The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1983. Folklore Bibliography: leaves 622-652. This is a study of the information on folklife found in writings about English country life. It is also an attempt to describe the conventions of personal experience narration, spoken and written, among...

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Main Author: Lovelace, Martin J.
Other Authors: Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Folklore
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 1983
Subjects:
Online Access:http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/258833
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spelling ftmemorialunivdc:oai:collections.mun.ca:theses2/258833 2023-05-15T17:23:34+02:00 The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers Lovelace, Martin J. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Folklore Great Britain 1983 viii, 652 leaves. Image/jpeg; Application/pdf http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/258833 Eng eng Electronic Theses and Dissertations (196.75 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Lovelace_MartinJohn2.pdf 75272103 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/258833 The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries Folklore in literature--Great Britain Folklore--Great Britain Great Britain--Biography Great Britain--Social life and customs Text Electronic thesis or dissertation 1983 ftmemorialunivdc 2015-08-06T19:17:32Z Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1983. Folklore Bibliography: leaves 622-652. This is a study of the information on folklife found in writings about English country life. It is also an attempt to describe the conventions of personal experience narration, spoken and written, among rural English working men. Its sources are biographies and autobiographies of rural workers, country journals and character sketches, journalists’ reports on social and economic conditions, antiquarian studies and village histories. The period surveyed is from approximately 1700 to the 1960's. Its contention is that in such sources lies a relatively unknown literature of folklore and folklife which can augment the record of folk tradition. In particular, it is suggested that such writings fill 'in some of the contextual background lacking in the text-oriented folklore studies of the nineteenth century. -- It is argued that several writers who created biographies of working people made valuable contributions to the tradition of ethnographic writing. George Sturt is taken as an exemplar and his works are considered in detail. Other writers discussed include Stephen Reynolds, W.H. Hudson, Alfred Williams, and Flora Thompson. Like Sturt they achieved a breadth and depth of contextual description through close attention to everyday conversation and personal experience narration among their rural neighbours. As amateur recorders of folk tradition their sense of what should be recorded was not limited by the narrower paradigms of the folklore science of their day; furthermore they gave detailed and humane descriptions of their informants as individuals. -- From these biographical studies and the passages of oral autobiography often incorporated in them together with autobiographies of rural workers, an attempt has been made to delineate an oral canon for personal experience narration. This takes the form of five story topics, all dealing intrinsically with a man’s competence in his life's work, which emerge with striking regularity in oral and written recollections from this society. In addition to revealing such preoccupations the oral canon is a means for testing the authenticity and representativeness of works purporting to be insiders’ views of rural working life. Thesis Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) Hudson
institution Open Polar
collection Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI)
op_collection_id ftmemorialunivdc
language English
topic Folklore in literature--Great Britain
Folklore--Great Britain
Great Britain--Biography
Great Britain--Social life and customs
spellingShingle Folklore in literature--Great Britain
Folklore--Great Britain
Great Britain--Biography
Great Britain--Social life and customs
Lovelace, Martin J.
The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers
topic_facet Folklore in literature--Great Britain
Folklore--Great Britain
Great Britain--Biography
Great Britain--Social life and customs
description Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1983. Folklore Bibliography: leaves 622-652. This is a study of the information on folklife found in writings about English country life. It is also an attempt to describe the conventions of personal experience narration, spoken and written, among rural English working men. Its sources are biographies and autobiographies of rural workers, country journals and character sketches, journalists’ reports on social and economic conditions, antiquarian studies and village histories. The period surveyed is from approximately 1700 to the 1960's. Its contention is that in such sources lies a relatively unknown literature of folklore and folklife which can augment the record of folk tradition. In particular, it is suggested that such writings fill 'in some of the contextual background lacking in the text-oriented folklore studies of the nineteenth century. -- It is argued that several writers who created biographies of working people made valuable contributions to the tradition of ethnographic writing. George Sturt is taken as an exemplar and his works are considered in detail. Other writers discussed include Stephen Reynolds, W.H. Hudson, Alfred Williams, and Flora Thompson. Like Sturt they achieved a breadth and depth of contextual description through close attention to everyday conversation and personal experience narration among their rural neighbours. As amateur recorders of folk tradition their sense of what should be recorded was not limited by the narrower paradigms of the folklore science of their day; furthermore they gave detailed and humane descriptions of their informants as individuals. -- From these biographical studies and the passages of oral autobiography often incorporated in them together with autobiographies of rural workers, an attempt has been made to delineate an oral canon for personal experience narration. This takes the form of five story topics, all dealing intrinsically with a man’s competence in his life's work, which emerge with striking regularity in oral and written recollections from this society. In addition to revealing such preoccupations the oral canon is a means for testing the authenticity and representativeness of works purporting to be insiders’ views of rural working life.
author2 Memorial University of Newfoundland. Dept. of Folklore
format Thesis
author Lovelace, Martin J.
author_facet Lovelace, Martin J.
author_sort Lovelace, Martin J.
title The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers
title_short The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers
title_full The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers
title_fullStr The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers
title_full_unstemmed The presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of English rural workers
title_sort presentation of folklife in the biographies and autobiographies of english rural workers
publishDate 1983
url http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/258833
op_coverage Great Britain
geographic Hudson
geographic_facet Hudson
genre Newfoundland studies
University of Newfoundland
genre_facet Newfoundland studies
University of Newfoundland
op_source Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries
op_relation Electronic Theses and Dissertations
(196.75 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Lovelace_MartinJohn2.pdf
75272103
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses2/id/258833
op_rights The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission.
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