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Arab Folklore A Handbook
Dwight F. Reynolds
ISBN: 0-313-33311-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-33311-8
272 pages
Greenwood Press
Publication: 9/30/2007
List Price: $55.00 (UK Sterling Price: £37.95)
Discount Price: $27.50 Sale Price for U.S. Customers Only. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2009.
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • 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     Summer 2008
  • 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     February 2008
  • 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     March 2008
  • 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     December 2007
  • 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     5/1/2008
  • "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     3/1/2009
Description: The Arab world is constantly in the news. This book gives students and general readers an introduction to Arab culture by surveying the folklore of the region. The volume defines and classifies different types of folklore and provides a wide range of examples and texts. It looks at the critical and scholarly response to Arab folklore and the place of Arab folklore in contemporary culture. Included are references to numerous print and electronic works for further reading.

The Arab world is constantly in the news, and students and general readers need to become familiar with Arab culture. Central to any society are the beliefs and customs held dear by the people. In examining Arab folklore, this book provides a fundamental understanding of the ways of the Arab world. In doing so, it helps readers appreciate Arab culture and gain insight into one of the world's most politically and economically important regions.

Arab folklore is exotic to most students, and this volume begins by defining and classifying different folklore types. It then provides a wide range of examples and texts related to Arab folklore. It surveys the critical and scholarly response to Arab folklore and discusses the importance of Arab folklore to popular culture. The volume closes with a bibliography of print and electronic sources for further reading.
About the Author: 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).
PDF Catalogs:
Greenwood School and Public Library Reference 2009.pdf
Academic Library Fall 2008.pdf
Greenwood Spring Reference 2008.pdf
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