Land of the Millrats

Richard M. Dorson

Published by Harvard University Press 1981

Land of the Millrats

Richard M. Dorson

https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674419230

Overview
Contents

About this book

Most of Richard Dorson's thirty years as folklorist have been spent collecting tales and legends in the remote backcountry, far from the centers of population. For this book he extended his search for folk traditions to one of the most heavily industrialized sections of the United States. Can folklore be found, he wondered, in the Calumet Region of northwest Indiana? Does it exist among the steelworkers, ethnic groups, and blacks in Gary, Whiting, East Chicago, and Hammond?

In his usual entertaining style, Dorson shows that a rich and varied folklore exists in the Region. Although it differs from that of rural people, it is equally vital. Much of this urban lore finds expression in conversational anecdotes and stories that deal with pressing issues: the flight from the inner city, crime in the streets, working conditions in the steel mills, the maintenance of ethnic identity, the place of blacks in a predominantly white society. The folklore reveals strongly held attitudes such as the loathing of industrial work, resistance to assimilation, and black adoption of middle-class-white values.

Miliworkers and mill executives, housewives, ethnic performers, storekeepers, and preachers tell their stories about the Region. The concerns that occupy them affect city dwellers throughout the United States. Land of the Millrats, though it depicts a special place, speaks for much of America.

Author / Editor information

Dorson Richard M. :

Richard M. Dorson is Associate Professor of History at Michigan State University. He is review editor of the Journal of American Folklore and author of Jonathan Draws the Long Bow, a collection of New England tales.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
ILLUSTRATIONS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
INTRODUCTION: FORAY INTO “DE REGION” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. MYSTIQUE OF THE REGION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	5
2. THE FOLKLORE OF STEEL Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	42
3. A SPECTRUM OF ETHNICS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
4. BLACK OUTLOOKS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
5. CRIMELORE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
EPILOGUE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	232
A BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	247

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Edition: Reprint 2014
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Front matter: 12
- Main content: 251
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 16
- Other: illustrations
Keywords: LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General; SOCIAL SCIENCE / Folklore & Mythology; LITERARY CRITICISM / General; Folklore -- Calumet Region (Ill. and Ind.); Urban folklore -- Calumet Region (Ill. and Ind.)

eBook

Published: October 1, 2013
ISBN: 9780674419230

Hardcover

Published: February 5, 1981
ISBN: 9780674419223