Imagined States: Nationalism, Utopia, and Longing in Oral Cultures

by Luisa Del Giudice

Overview

An international ensemble of folklore scholars looks at varied ways in which national and ethnic groups have traditionally and creatively used imagined states of existence-some idealizations, some demonizations-in the construction of identities for themselves and for others. Drawing on oral traditions, especially as represented in traditional ballads, broadsides, and tale collections, the contributors consider fertile landscapes of the mind where utopias overflow with bliss and abundance, stereotyped national and ethnic caricatures define the lives of "others," nostalgia glorifies home and occupation, and idealized and mythological animals serve as cultural icons and guideposts to harmonious social life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780874214574
Publisher:	Utah State University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	270
File size:	2 MB

Table of Contents

Contents Introduction Idealized States Mountains of Cheese and Rivers of Wine: Paesi di Cuccagna and Other Gastronomic Utopias Prefaced Space: Tales of the Colonial British Collectors of Indian Folklore Working the Railways, Constructing Navvy Identity Demonized States “Who Talks of My Nation?” The Role of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland in Constructing “Englishness” The Turkish German Self: Displacing German-German Conflict in Orientalist Street Ballads Embodied States Bovine Bodies and the Domestication of the Human Mind “The Poppy Blossom from My Native Land” The Married Woman as Exile in Latvian Folk Poetry Contributors Index