Expressive Genres and Historical Change

Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Taiwan

Andrew Strathern author Pamela J Stewart editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:12th Dec '19

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Expressive Genres and Historical Change cover

This collection of essays, edited by leading scholars in the field, focuses on how expressive genres such as music, dance and poetry are of enduring significance to social organization. Research from New Guinea, Indonesia and Taiwan is used to assess how historical changes modify these forms of expression to adjust to the social and political needs of the moment. The volume is unique in exploring the significance of expressive genres for the social processes of coping with and adjusting to change, either from outside forces or from internal ones. The contributions detail first-hand fieldwork, often conducted over a period of many years, and with each contributor bringing their experience to bear on both the aesthetic and the analytical aspects of their materials. Comparative in scope, the volume covers Austronesian and non-Austronesian speakers in the wider Indo-Pacific region.

’This collection of essays is a welcome addition to the literature on expressive arts in the Indo-Pacific region. The topics of dance, music and poetry have been relatively little explored here by anthropologists, and this book, edited by two well known researchers, fills a significant gap. All of those with interests in these expressive genres, and Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Taiwan generally, will find it a most valuable collection.’ Professor Paul Sillitoe, University of Durham, UK ’The contributors...eloquently demonstrate how transformations in the political or religious landscape are reflected and enacted in reformulations of local cultural heritage and expressive styles...Through richly described and illustrated transformations of expressive forms, this book acquaints us with the flexibility and dynamics of aesthetic and narrative genres, and with the dilemmas, emotions and strategies of people in transitional situations.’ Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde

ISBN: 9780367887872

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 453g

284 pages