Questions of tradition / edited by Mark Salber Phillips and Gordon Schochet.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Combining discussions of the idea of tradition by major scholars from a variety of disciplines with synoptic, synthesizing essays, Questions of Tradition will initiate a renewal of interest in this vital subject.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

The essays here address an important but significantly undertheorized issue in modern academia. Different academic disciplines have taken substantially different approaches to "tradition," suggesting the usefulness of cross-disciplinary analysis. The first half of the book offers specific "case study" articles, mostly from the perspective of anthropology and museum studies, dealing with cultural adaptation of mass-produced textiles in contemporary Africa, the "Black Pete" character in Dutch culture, and conflicting traditions among Native Americans or First Nations and US and Canadian museums regarding appropriate use, display, and possession of cultural artifacts and sacred objects such as Iroquois masks and Pacific Northwest totems. The second part has a more theoretical focus, featuring essays on tradition in US liberalism, the common law, the work of Philippe Aries, and contemporary ethical theory. There are summary essays for each part and introductory and concluding essays for the entire volume. These are intelligent, exceptionally wide-ranging essays, tenuously held together by a common theme. Scholars with diverse tastes and disciplinary backgrounds may find something of interest here, but they will also likely find many of the essays esoteric or peripheral to their own work. For larger collections. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Graduate students/faculty. K. Blaser Wayne State College