Surveys the fascinating and timely world of Arab folklore in a convenient introductry guide for students and general readers.
Dwight F. Reynolds is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His previous books include Interpreting the Self: Autobiography in the Arabic Literary Tradition (2001), and Heroic Poets, Poetic Heroes: The Ethnography of Performance in an Arabic Oral Epic Tradition (1995).
The book could comprise one of a set of texts for a general course
on Arab-world culture or for a course on global folklore. The work
is prepared for English-speaking students and scholars, and as such
is notably effective—among the best in the pantheon of introductory
texts for humanities and social science aficionados. . . .
Reynolds's clear explications open up for students the opportunity
to move forward both in their knowledge of folklore theory and
methodology and of the Arab world. Even for advanced undergraduate
Arabic majors, the book is an excellent source to work from as they
develop a paper focusing on a particular folklore performance or a
comparative topic. . . . [I]t is a book that remains on one's
bookshelf as a resource long after the course is completed. In a
sense it is also timeless, canonical—as important now, if not more
so, than when it first appeared in 2007.
*Journal of Folklore Research*
This is the first volume in the Greenwood Folklore Handbook series
to treat the Middle East, and it is an excellent beginning.
Reynolds has considerable experience, having lived in the Middle
East and conducted research there, and he provides an introduction
to the history and culture of the Arabs and then proceeds, using
selective miniature case studies, to survey verbal, musical, and
material arts and also customs and traditions from many parts of
the Arab world. He offers helpful readings, a review of the
scholarship and of approaches to studying folklore, and a section
on the importance of context. The examples and illustrations are
judicious: they reflect the variety of the folklore, include many
translations from the Arabic, and offer balanced coverage of the
Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities. His coverage of the
literature is broad and one misses only mention of Ruth Finnegan's
Oral Poetry: Its Nature, Significance and Social Context (CH,
Mar'78), with its comparative sociological approach and somewhat
different slant on the subject. Essential. Lower- and
upper-division undergraduates; general readers.
*Choice*
Where Arab Folklore differs from many other handbooks is in the
extraordinary geographical, historical, and generic sweep Dwight
Reynolds has orchestrated in writing this guide to Arab folklore
covering some 20 countries and multiple regional folk
cultures….[T]he handbook includes a very rich list of print and
electronic references for the topics covered in each chapter, and
an extensive bibliography at the end….Dwight Reynold's Arab
Folklore should be of interest to a wide range of readers, from
students specializing in folklore, to scholars teaching and doing
research on the Middle East in various disciplines, to the average
reader who simply wants to know more about the Arab world.
*Middle East Journal*
In this series for students of folklore and general readers,
volumes generally focus on a specific genre, but this volume
considers a geographical area encompassing some 20 countries, many
with multiple cultures. Reynolds (religious studies, U. of
California-Santa Barbara) illustrates representative genres with
particular works, and discusses themes that pervade the diversity
of modern and historical Arab verbal and narrative arts, musical
arts, material arts, and customs and traditions.
*SciTech Book News*
This book examines not only the folk narratives of the region but
also it's poetry, music, art, customs and traditions. It starts
with a brief but detailed overview of the history, religion and
people of Arabia. The next section examines Arabia's oral
literature, providing many examples of poems and stories, before
moving on to look at other aspects of Arabian folklore.
*Storylines*
A handful of black-and-white illustrations enhance this thoughtful
guide for college-level students of mythography and Arab culture,
highly recommended for college library shelves
*Midwest Book Review*
Arab Folklore differs from other handbooks in its extraordinary
geographical and historical coverage of Arab folklore. It
encompasses multiple regional folk cultures that span roughly 20
countries and examines not only the folk narratives but also
poetry, music, art, customs, and traditions…The discussion is made
meaningful through a series of miniature case studies. These aptly
illustrate the major themes and genres listed above. They also
highlight the importance of performance and context in the Arab
world. This approach offers a balanced coverage of the Muslim,
Christian, and Jewish communities in the Arab world…The handbook
would be invaluable to those specializing in folklore or Middle
Eastern studies.
*ARBA*
. . . an excellent overview of Arab culture, illuminating the
diversity of folk traditions from a rich seedbed comprising some
twenty nationalities. . . well organized and logically presented .
. . The book is useful for the general public and for students of
folklore. . .
*Western Folklore*
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