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The Quest of the Folk, CLS EditionAntimodernism and Cultural Selection in Twentieth-Century Nova Scotia |
eBook Available
Debunking the myth of Nova Scotians as "simple folk."
The popular conception of Nova Scotians as a pure, simple, idyllic people is false, argues Ian McKay. In The Quest of the Folk he shows how the province's tourism industry and cultural producers manipulated and refashioned the cultural identity of the region and its people to project traditional folk values.
McKay offers an in-depth analysis of the infusion of a folk ideology into the art and literature of the region and the use of the idea of the "Simple Life" in tourism promotion. He examines how Nova Scotia's cultural history was rewritten to erase evidence of an urban, capitalist society, class and ethnic differences, and women's emancipation. In doing so he sheds new light on the roles of Helen Creighton, the Maritime region's most famous folklorist, and Mary Black, an influential handicrafts revivalist, in creating this false identity.
McKay offers an in-depth analysis of the infusion of a folk ideology into the art and literature of the region and the use of the idea of the "Simple Life" in tourism promotion. He examines how Nova Scotia's cultural history was rewritten to erase evidence of an urban, capitalist society, class and ethnic differences, and women's emancipation. In doing so he sheds new light on the roles of Helen Creighton, the Maritime region's most famous folklorist, and Mary Black, an influential handicrafts revivalist, in creating this false identity.
Details
Part of the Carleton Library Series (number 212 in series)
396 Pages, 6 x 9
26 illustrations
ISBN 9780773535367
May 2009
Formats: Paperback, eBook
"Magnificent analysis bristling with insight. The Quest of the Folk is among the best cultural history that has been produced in this country." Keith Walden, history, Trent University
"Seldom do we see intellectual analyses engage as precisely and comprehensively with lived experience as does The Quest of the Folk." Dorothy Turner, HNet Reviews
"The Quest of the Folk should appeal to anyone interested in the invention of tradition, and in what McKay calls cultural selection. It is beautifully written and, in terms of its content and interpretation, should serve as a model to cultural historians to set historical figures within the context of their times." Ann McMullen, The Public Historian
"McKay's hard-nosed critical stance promises to make this one of the more controversial works in Canadian history, particularly as it relates to the careers of the demigods of Nova Scotia's 'folk essence,' Helen Creighton and Mary Black." Colin Howell, history, St Mary's University
"Seldom do we see intellectual analyses engage as precisely and comprehensively with lived experience as does The Quest of the Folk." Dorothy Turner, HNet Reviews
"The Quest of the Folk should appeal to anyone interested in the invention of tradition, and in what McKay calls cultural selection. It is beautifully written and, in terms of its content and interpretation, should serve as a model to cultural historians to set historical figures within the context of their times." Ann McMullen, The Public Historian
"McKay's hard-nosed critical stance promises to make this one of the more controversial works in Canadian history, particularly as it relates to the careers of the demigods of Nova Scotia's 'folk essence,' Helen Creighton and Mary Black." Colin Howell, history, St Mary's University
Ian McKay is professor of history, Queen's University, and the author of For a Working-Class Culture in Canada: A Selection of Colin McKay's Writing on Sociology and Political Economy, 1897-1939.
9780773545960
$115.00 CAD
Cloth
