Public Folklore in the Twenty-first Century: New Challenges for the Discipline

Abstract

The term is generally applied to practices, art forms, and objects that represent the presence of the past in contemporary life. If something is traditional, we assume it is valued, perhaps even revered, by the culture from which it derives. Tradition refers to persistence through time, to continuity and consistency of form and/or function, and to the way in which cultural information is transmitted-through face-to-face interaction, orally, or by means of customary example. Defining or identifying groups of people as folk and interpreting their culture as depends upon constructs of political, social, ethnic, and/or religious identity. Such identities may be generally ascribed by outsiders, rather than assumed or expressed by the individuals so identified, and often reflect the relationship of a group or class to the dominant culture and to a regional or national identity. Traditions represent that part of the past that has remained valuable in the present. Inasmuch as distinctive objects, practices, or art forms may represent a specific culture or group identity to members of the dominant culture, the objects, practices, events, and/or performances designated as may become desired commodities. Economic imperatives have always played a central role in the commoditization of culture. In the postindustrial latter twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, many regions, states, and communities throughout the world look increasingly to distinctive local, regional, and/or ethnic heritage and culture as potentially exploitable resources for developing new economic opportunities. Not only are natural, historical, and cultural sites so assessed, but, more recently, traditional events-as well as cultural tradition-bearers' skills and activities-have also come in for such appraisals. The challenge to those who hope to capitalize on the possibilities of economic development through cultural and heritage products is to balance the preservation of the resources with their development and marketing. Recognition of cultural traditions as potential assets that can be developed and/or converted in some way for monetary gain-as commodities-is anathema to those folklorists who regard traditional culture as previously unsullied by capitalism or other economic forces. The concept of ethical marketing is therefore an oxymoron. To elucidate my position on this issue, it will be necessary for me to discuss briefly PATRICIA ATKINSON WELLS is an independent folklorist who lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee