..". Dundes has produced a work which will be useful to both students and teachers who wish to broaden their understanding of modern folklore." --Center for Southern Folklore Magazine

"It is impossible ever to remain unimpressed with Dundes'] excursuses, however much one may be in disagreement (or not) with his conclusions." --Forum for Modern Language Studies

Often controversial, Alan Dundes's scholarship is always provocative, perceptive, and intelligent. His concern here is to assess the material folklorists have so painstakingly amassed and classified, to interpret...

"These essays... are of immense importance to anyone interested in the issues of origins and folklore texts." Choice

..". this is Bascom at his best.... an attractive and full-bodied book." Fabula

These essays, devoted to traditional narratives found in Africa and in the New World, represent the last major research project of William Bascom (1912-1981), eminent authority on African art and folklore his intention was to demonstrate the African roots of African American folktales.

Take this test. You think today s sensitive, caring man is: (a) a myth, (b) an oxymoron, or (c) a moron. No matter whether you laugh at this bit of folk humor, its wide circulation bespeaks a modern predicament for American men.

Men s "manly" traditions have been shaken in an age of "sensitivity." Some observers have even referred to a crisis of masculinity for a new generation of boys. In Manly Traditions, established scholars in the fields of folklore, men s studies, and gender studies identify the folkloric roots of what it means to be a man in America. In a lively volume they...

Covering a period of more than one hundred years of work by renowned folklorists, these enlightening essays explore the timeless tale of Cinderella. In addition to the most famous versions of the story (Basile's Pentamerone, Perrault's Cendrillon, and the Grimm's Aschenputtel), this casebook includes articles on other versions of the tale from Russian, English, Chinese, Greek and French folklore. The volume concludes with several interpretive essays, including a psychoanalytic view from Dundes and a critique of the popularization of Cinderella in America.

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Alan Dundes, in this casebook of an anti-Semitic legend, demonstrates the power of folklore to influence thought and history. According to the blood libel legend, Jews murdered Christian infants to obtain blood to make matzah. Dundes has gathered here the work of leading scholars who examine the varied sources and elaborations of the legend. Collectively, their essays constitute a forceful statement against this false accusation.
The legend is traced from the murder of William of Norwich in 1144, one of the first reported cases of ritualized murder attributed to Jews, through...

Originating more than 2500 years ago, cockfighting is one of the oldest documented sports in the world. It has continued to flourish despite bans against it in many countries. In "The Cockfight: A Casebook," folklorist Alan Dundes brings together a diverse array of writing on this male-dominated ritual.
Vivid descriptions of cockfights from Puerto Rico, Tahiti, Ireland, Spain, Brazil, and the Philippines complement critical commentaries, from the fourth-century reflections of St. Augustine to contemporary anthropological and psychoanalytic interpretations. The various essays discuss...