Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon |
Buy Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon here, one of 750 American History books offered for sale at discount prices here in the history books section at R bookshop. There are currently 82668 history books in our history books section, and over 1,000,000 books listed in our book store. We greatly appreciate your patronage at R bookshop and look forward to offering you a large selection of great books at discount prices now and in the future. Thank you for shopping at R Bookshop!
|
You Are Here: Home > History Books > American History > Item 146
 |
Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon
|
by Anthony Harkins
Sales Rank: 182070
|
List Price: $29.95
$29.95
At Amazon
on 6-23-2008.
|
|
|
|
Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 336 pages
Published by: Oxford University Press, USA September 8, 2005
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0195189507
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0195189506
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
Weighs: 1 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Harkins, assistant professor of history at Western Kentucky University, means to examine the "cultural and ideological construct `the hillbilly' rather than the actual people of the southern mountains." To this end, he looks at some unusual early American printed material, Paul Webb's Esquire magazine cartoons from the 1930s and '40s, a handful of famous newspaper comic strips (e.g., Snuffy Smith, Barney Google, L'il Abner), the careers of some "hillbilly" musicians, a series of mostly minor motion pictures and, finally, a few popular TV sitcoms, especially The Beverly Hillbillies. He argues that the "hillbilly" label has vacillated from indicating degraded ignorance and savagery to something almost idyllic, a premodern, rural simplicity. Curiously, Harkins makes only passing reference to some influential novels (e.g., The Grapes of Wrath; Harriette Arnow's The Dollmaker), which not only became highly successful films but arguably did more to influence public understanding of the "hillbilly" than a film like Stark Love, which Harkins describes at length, even though it was quickly melted down for recycling after it bombed in theaters. While his selective culling from the various media supports his central argument, that "because of its semantic and ideological malleableness" the term "hillbilly" has had a long and varied usage, the same argument could be made of most social labels. But readers who wish to understand how this label reflected the actual conditions of Southern mountain folk, or how the media decided which meaning to assign to "`hillbilly" at which point in time-or indeed, how this label's history contrasted with the history of other pejorative characterizations-will have to look elsewhere. 78 illus.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Review
"Anthony Harkins has written a fine book about how misconceptions were perpetuatedhe gives us insight into the ways the hillbilly icon has served the 'mainstream' belief system and the reasons the hillbilly icon had and has such power."--Herb E. Smith, Journal of Appalachian Studies
"Beautifully written and well illustrated, this volume builds upon a generation of research on regional images and the politics of culture in the Appalachian South. By setting that literature in the greater context of American cultural history, Harkins not only contributes to a broader understanding of the struggle to define and control national identity; he also points the way to a more critical assessment of the roles of class, gender, and race in regional identity as well."--The Journal of American History
"In the pantheon of American regional icons, none slouches more prominently than the hillbilly.an accessible and thought-provoking analysis of an American icon and its place within the American consciousness."--Arkansas Historical Quarterly
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon (Hardcover)
Harkins is a professor at Western Kentucky University, and his academic background is reflected in the writing of this book. It's pretty analytical, throwing tons of facts and research tidbits at the reader, occasionally drawing conclusions or extrapolating from data or hypothesizing. It's not the driest of academic texts though; i wasn't rolling my eyes at any overusage of "trendy" academic semantic BS (by which i mean, he doesn't say things like "in order to appreciate the resonance of the cultural icon, we must unpack the meaning intrinsic to the tropes of hillbilly semiotics" or whatever-the-heck). Chapter by chapter, he traces the development and metamorphosis of the concept of "hillbillies" and all the various meanings of the word, from noble mountaineers to gun-shooting moonshiners to inbred rapist morons to string-band radio stars. The text is full of dozens of illustrations, vintage photography, advertisement reproductions, and cartoons which illustrate his various points. It's not a quick read or a mindless read, but rather, it's fascinating, well-researched, and if you like sociology and cultural studies and various looks at rural cultures, I recommend it.
Comment | |
(Report this)
Back To Top
|
Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon
Available from Amazon
Price: $29.95
Updated on 6-23-2008.
|
NOTICE: All prices, availability, and specifications
are subject to verification by their respective retailers.
| We offer Hillbilly: A Cultural History of an American Icon and other related American History Books here at Rbookshop.com. To view more books about American History please use the previous and next buttons near the top of this page.
|
|
Search for books at
