Jack David Eller begins by stating that this is a “selection of some of the most familiar, important and revealing traditions in America.” He includes a long discussion of the “traditioning” process, quoting Dell Hymes and other folklorists. In spite of Eller’s recognition of the study of tradition as a key aspect of research in folk culture, he frequently makes claims with no support or references. For instance, he makes a series of statements about the traditions of what he calls the “native nations” of North America (8), claiming colonizing practices such as the French using the name “Iroquois” or migrations due to conquest essentially undercut the veracity of traditions of a variety of Native American tribes.
As someone who has taught Introduction to Folklore to a variety of age groups, I found his explanation of the process awkward, overly focused on the length of practice of traditions, and nearly obsessed with the young and revolutionary nature of American culture. In spite of this, he does finally conclude that “tradition, like all culture, is mobile, portable, plastic and hybrid,” a description most folklorists would agree with.
Eller organizes his exploration of tradition into four categories: political, specifically related to American governance; holidays, including cultural festivals such as Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day; everyday traditions, including dress, food, and gesture; and what he calls “distinctive American characters,” such as Superman, Paul Bunyan, and Mickey Mouse—stirring together actual traditional practices with what he admits are “fakelore” and popular culture creations. He co-mixes elite, popular, and folk culture, giving equal weight to commercial products such as Coca Cola and Mickey Mouse, and to traditions such as Thanksgiving, which, while they do bear a history of official support, play a role in many families’ actual folk culture.
Eller’s emphasis on the invention of tradition, based on an essay by the anthropologist Anthony Wallace and the work of Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger in Invented Traditions, leads him to see his stew of American culture as all entirely invented. This permits him to claim that commercial products are as traditional as actual folkloric practices. He has done little or no research on American traditional practices connected with the commercial products and places he highlights, such as the linguistic tradition of a certain age-group of Americans from the East Coast referring to all carbonated beverages as “coke” (my own family’s practice), or families who make an actual traditional practice of visiting Disneyland. He shows no interest in (or knowledge of) how Americans incorporate holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day or Cinco de Mayo into family and community practices, instead focusing on the historical and sociopolitical origins, which have been more carefully researched by other scholars. Those interested in American popular culture may find this book interesting (although I would refrain from using it for teaching, since many of its claims are unreferenced). Its reliance on a website named “American folklore” is just one of many concerns I have as to the book’s reliability and its lack of research into actual traditional practice. This site, created by a teller of “spooky stories,” consists of unreferenced retold tales and created stories. In the same way, Eller has created a narrative about American tradition without doing the necessary work to support his claims.
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[Review length: 548 words • Review posted on September 26, 2019]