“Let Me Tell You Some Stories, and You Will Record Them”: Dan Ben-Amos and the Study of Jewish Folklore and Ethnology

Authors

Simon J. Bronner, University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeFollow

Abstract

Dan Ben-Amos (1934–2023) was associated with groundbreaking work beginning during the 1960s on concepts of context and performance and the paradigm shift in folkloristics with his groundbreaking essay “Toward a Definition of Folklore in Context.” His odyssey from Israel to the United States, including formative experiences as a youth absorbing ideas about social reality and Jewish folklore as counterculture, has a profound influence on an equally profound shift in the understanding of Jewish experience as well as on the globalization of folkloristics as a discipline. In addition to interpreting his culminating work of the Folktales of the Jews series of books, this essay shows the continuation of his legacy in other projects he initiated or envisioned.

Recommended Citation

Bronner, Simon J. (2023) "“Let Me Tell You Some Stories, and You Will Record Them”: Dan Ben-Amos and the Study of Jewish Folklore and Ethnology," Jewish Folklore and Ethnology: Vol. 2: Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/jewishfolklore/vol2/iss1/2