Folklore and Appalachia: Start Your Research

The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies surveys the materials, approaches, concepts, and applications of the field to provide a sweeping guide to American folklore and folklife, culture, history, and society. Forty-three comprehensive and diverse chapters delve into significant themes and methods of folklore and folklife study; established expressions and activities; spheres and locations of folkloric action; and shared cultures and common identities.

This encyclopedia provides accessible entries on key elements of this long history, including folklore originally derived from African cultures that have survived here and those that originated in the United States. The work provides original materials, such as excepts from folktales and folksongs, and a comprehensive compilation of sources for further research that includes bibliographical citations as well as lists of websites and cultural centers.

Designed for students, scholars, and general readers, this work focuses on folklore forms and methods from a cross-cultural, theoretical perspective. Folklore emphasizes those bodies of North American and European scholarship that have influenced each other most profoundly since the discipline's inception. The entries provide an introduction that facilitates the pursuit of more specialized topics and other bodies of scholarship. Topics range from such traditional subjects as "festival" and "folktale" to cutting-edge entries such as "computer-mediated folklore" and "postmodernism." In most cases, a longer, more comprehensive essay format for entries has been favored over shorter entries. Entries are cross-referenced, and each includes a select bibliography to serve as a guide to in depth research.

Each superstition is illustrated by quotations tracing its development through the centuries. Entries tell of the traditional significance of animals, colours, days, and the elements; rituals to be observed at certain seasons or when faced with natural and unnatural occurrences; cures, taboos, and the uses to which people have put everyday objects in pursuit of good fortune or knowledge of the future.

Featuring more than 350 A-Z entries, "Encyclopedia of American Folklife" is wide-ranging and inclusive. This encyclopedia covers notable folklife areas as well as general regional categories. It addresses religious groups, age groups, and contemporary folk groups placing all of them in the vivid tapestry of folklife in America. The set also features complete indexes in each volume, as well as a bibliography for further research.

The only guide of its kind, the Encyclopedia of Appalachia is replete with information on every aspect of Appalachia's history, land, culture, and people. Containing more than 2,000 entries in 30 sections, the Encyclopedia is designed for quick reference and access to the information you need to know. The Encyclopedia details subjects traditionally associated with Appalachia-folklore, handcrafts, mountain music, foods, and coal mining-but goes far beyond regional stereotypes to treat such wide-ranging topics as the aerospace industry, Native American foodways, ethnic diversity in the coalfields, education reform, linguistic variation, and the contested notion of what it means to be Appalachian, both inside and outside the region.

An easy-to-use guide to American regional folklore with advice on conducting research, regional essays, and a selective annotated bibliography. American Regional Folklore begins with a chapter on library research, including how to locate a library suitable for folklore research, how to understand a library's resources, and how to construct a research strategy. The rest of the book is divided into eight sections, each one highlighting a separate region (the Northeast, the South and Southern Highlands, the Midwest, the Southwest, the West, the Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii).

Moving beyond the traditional view of folklore that situates it in historical practice and narrowly defined genres, entries in this volume demonstrate how folklife remains a vital part of communities' self-definitions. Fifty thematic entries address subjects such as car culture, funerals, hip-hop, and powwows. In 56 additional topical entries, contributors focus on more specific elements of folklife. Volume is indexed, but the series is not.

A Handbook to Appalachia provides a clear, concise first step toward understanding the expanding field of Appalachian studies, from the history of the area to its conflicted image, from its music and folklore to its outstanding literature. Chapters: History, The Peoples of Appalachia, Natural Resources and Environment, Economics, Politics of Change, Health Care, Education, Folklife, Literature, Religion, Visual Arts, and Appalachians Outside the Region.