Franz Boas and John Alden Mason in Porto Rico Ocasio, Rafael creator author text bibliography nju 2020 monographic eng

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239 pages ; 23 cm. "Race and Nation in Puerto Rican Folklore: Franz Boas and John Alden Mason in Porto Rico, 1915 explores the founding father of American anthropology's historic trip to Puerto Rico in 1915. As a component of the Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Boas intended to perform field research in the areas of anthropology and ethnography there while other scientists explored the island's natural resources. Native Puerto Rican cultural practices were also heavily explored through documentation of the island's oral folklore. A young anthropologist working under Boas, John Alden Mason, rescued hundreds of oral folklore samples, ranging from popular songs, poetry, conundrums, sayings, and, most particularly, folktales. Through extensive excursions, Mason came in touch with the rural practices of Puerto Rican peasants, the Jíbaros, who served as both his cultural informants and writers of the folklore samples. These stories, many of which are still part of the island's literary traditions, reflect a strong Puerto Rican identity coalescing in the face of the U.S. political intervention on the island. A fascinating slice of Puerto Rican history and culture sure to delight any reader!"-- Introduction: Retention and reinvention of Puerto Rican oral folklore tales -- Porto Rico as a colonial scientific laboratory : documenting Puerto Rican oral folklore -- A post-Spanish American War national identity : editing Puerto Rican folktales in a socio-political vacuum -- Jíbaros' authorship through self-literary characterization -- Telling a story about class and ethnicity through fairy tales, Cuentos puertorriqueños and Leyendas -- An (un)colored Puerto Rican culture : unpublished Negro fieldwork in old Loíza -- Tropicalizing the Puerto Rican racial past : the quest of an Indian area. Rafael Ocasio. Includes bibliographical references and index. nwpr--- n-us--- Boas, Franz 1858-1942 Travel Puerto Rico Mason, John Alden 1885-1967 Travel Puerto Rico Folklore Study and teaching Puerto Rico History Ethnology Puerto Rico History Oral tradition Puerto Rico National characteristics, Puerto Rican Puerto Ricans Ethnic identity Puerto Rico Race relations Puerto Rico Social life and customs Puerto Rico Relations United States United States Relations Puerto Rico GR47.P8 O23 2020 398.2097295 9781978810211 9781978810204 2019043696 LBSOR/DLC 200307 20210413193658.0 21471242 eng