folkways


Also found in: Dictionary, Wikipedia.

folkways,

term coined by William Graham SumnerSumner, William Graham,
1840–1910, American sociologist and political economist, b. Paterson, N.J., grad. Yale, 1863, and studied in Germany, in Switzerland, and at Oxford.
..... Click the link for more information.  in his treatise Folkways (1906) to denote those group habits that are common to a society or culture and are usually called customscustom,
habitual group pattern of behavior that is transmitted from one generation to another and is not biologically determined. Since societies are perpetually changing, no matter how slowly, all customs are basically impermanent.
..... Click the link for more information. . The word provided a useful contribution to the development of the concept of cultureculture,
in anthropology, the integrated system of socially acquired values, beliefs, and rules of conduct which delimit the range of accepted behaviors in any given society. Cultural differences distinguish societies from one another.
..... Click the link for more information.  and is still used in its technical sense in sociological literature. Fashions in clothing or modes of recreation exemplify folkways. The term has failed to maintain the currency it once enjoyed among the other social sciences but has gained acceptance as a colloquial term. See moresmores
, concept developed by William Graham Sumner to designate those folkways that if violated, result in extreme punishment. The term comes from the Latin mos (customs), and although mores are fewer in number than folkways, they are more coercive.
..... Click the link for more information. .

folkways

the everyday customs of a social group or community (W. SUMNER, 1906). Folkways are contrasted with MORES, being less strongly sanctioned and less abstractly organized.
Mentioned in ?
References in periodicals archive ?
She recorded numerous albums for Folkways, Elektra, and other labels.
Jean Ritchie (1922-2015)
A recently formed publishing company, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, became Caldwell's new publisher and agreed to undertake the American Folkways series.
Perkins
This work was originally written in Irish and is the first travel book of its kind comparing Irish folkways and Asian traditions.
My mule drinks from the Ganges; a travelogue
Whether the product of outdated folkways or of fumblings in fancy cars, they are, after all, a psychological and financial burden, an obstacle standing in the way of big dreams.
Dreams of my daughters
As the nation celebrates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has released an enjoyable collection of Civil War songs performed by the late Tom Glazer.
A Treasury of Civil War Songs
Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40180 [2009], CD), makes an excellent aural companion to Gone to the County.
Gone to the Country: The New Lost City Ramblers & the Folk Music Revival
Both populist and preservationist in spirit, the Yiddish 'language cinema of the early twentieth century memorialized the rapidly disappearing folkways and lifestyle of Jewish Eastern Europe and served as a driving force in the growth and dissemination of the transnational culture of the Diaspora.
Art, Music, Film
Now, 38 years later, the Smithsonian's nonprofit Folkways label will release a revised collection Tuesday.
Smithsonian set updates Jazz anthology 38 years later
Songs of The Seminole Indians of Florida, produced by the Smithsonian Institution's Folkways Collection, is a beautiful compilation of traditional Seminole & Miccosukee
Songs of The Seminole Indians of Florida
Columbia said 15 of the compositions have never been officially released, although one of those listed, the civil-rights tale "The Death Of Emmett Till," appeared on the 1972 Smithsonian Folkways compilation "Broadside Ballads, Vol.
Early Bob Dylan demos released in new "Bootleg" set
As gathered on Harry Smith's three-volume Anthology of American Folk Music, released in 1952 by what was then a local New York record label called Folkways, these old 78s became the basis not just of a new emphasis on sound and style, but would be a catalyst in the grassroots revitalization of stringband traditions across North America .
Always Been A Rambler. The New Lost City Ramblers
The title on the cover read: "Alec Guinness reads spiritual and religious poetry and prose" The year was 1961 and it was released on Folkways Records, New York.
Memories of Christmas

Encyclopedia browser ?
Full browser ?