Synopses & Reviews
This book argues that conscious development of new ways of thinking about language had a crucial role in modern history, particularly the discovery of how apparently objective differences between languages legitimated social inequalities. It opens with a discussion of English seventeenth century authors, concerned with problems presented by the use of language in scientific or philosophical enquiry. It then examines ideas about language developed with the colonization of the Americas, contact with the Orient, and with antiquarian works. Their thesis is that savages and ancients were judged together because they used language similarly (irrational, poetic), in contrast to modern Europeans, who required disciplined language for use in scientific, philosophical and legal projects. In response, romantic, nationalist writers on language celebrated vernacular oral poetry. The final section deals with American 'texts' selected, edited and published by scholars, and the consequences of their approaches to this material.
Review
"...an extremely useful guide to the intellectual history of the modern era"-Canadian Journal of Sociology Online
Review
"...A unique and singular book. Richard Bauman and Charles Briggs have crafted a wide-ranging and far-reaching work based on years of meticulous research that should be read closely be anyone with an interest in the emergence of "the folk," "folklore," and "folkloristics" in modernizing Europe...It has a prominent place in my library, is it should in anyone's." -David Samuels, University of Massachusetts, Amherst: Journal of American Folklore
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 322-347) and index.
Synopsis
Language was crucial in modern history because objective differences between languages legitimated social inequalities.
Synopsis
This book argues that conscious development of new ways of thinking about language had a crucial role in modern history, particularly the discovery of how apparently objective differences between languages legitimated social inequalities. It opens with a discussion of English seventeenth century authors, concerned with problems presented by the use of language in scientific or philosophical enquiry. It then examines ideas about language developed with the colonization of the Americas, contact with the Orient, and with antiquarian works. Their thesis is that savages and ancients were judged together because they used language similarly (irrational, poetic), in contrast to modern Europeans, who required disciplined language for use in scientific, philosophical and legal projects. In response, romantic, nationalist writers on language celebrated vernacular oral poetry. The final section deals with American 'texts' selected, edited and published by scholars, and the consequences of their approaches to this material.
Synopsis
Discusses how new ways of thinking about language have uncovered previously 'legitimated' linguistic and social inequalities.
Synopsis
This study asserts that conscious development of new ways of thinking about language had a crucial role in modern history, particularly the discovery of how differences between languages legitimated social inequalities. It claims that savages and ancients were judged alike because they used language similarly, in contrast to modern Europeans who used disciplined language in scientific, philosophical and legal projects.
About the Author
Richard Bauman is Distinguished Professor of Communication and Culture, Folklore, and Anthropology at Indiana University, Bloomington.Charles L. Briggs is Professor of Ethnic Studies and Director, Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies, University of California, San Diego.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction; 2. Making language safe for science and society: from Francis Bacon to John Lock; 3. Antiquaries and philologists: the construction of modernity and its others in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England; 4. The critical foundations of national epic: Hugh Blair, the Ossian controversy, and the rhetoric of authenticity; 5. Johann Gottfried Herder: language reform, das Volk, and the patriarchal state in eighteenth-century Germany; 6. The Brothers Grimm: scientizing, textual production in the service of romantic nationalism; 7. Henry Rowe school craft and the making of an American textual tradition; 8. The foundation of all future researches: Franz Boas, George Hunt, Native American texts and the construction of modernity; 9. Conclusion.