Disenchanting les bons temps : identity and authenticity in Cajun music and dance / Charles J. Stivale.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stivale, Charles J.

Series:

Post-contemporary interventions

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cajun music--Louisiana--History and criticism.

Cajun music.

Folk dancing, Cajun--Louisiana.

Folk dancing, Cajun.

Cajuns--Louisiana--Social life and customs.

Cajuns.

Manners and customs.

Louisiana.

Physical Description:

xii, 217 pages ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Durham [N.C.] : Duke University Press, 2003.

Summary:

The expression laissez les bons temps rouler -- "let the good times roll" -- conveys the sense of exuberance and good times associated with southern Louisiana's vibrant cultural milieu. Yet, for Cajuns, descendants of French settlers exiled from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in the mid-eighteenth century, this sense of celebration has always been mixed with sorrow. By focusing on Cajun music and dance and the ways they convey the dual experiences of joy and pain, Disenchanting Les Bons Temps illuminates the complexities of Cajun culture. Charles J. Stivale shows how vexed issues of cultural identity and authenticity are negotiated through the rich expressions of emotion, sensation, sound, and movement in Cajun music and dance.

Stivale combines his personal knowledge and love of Cajun music and dance with the theoretical insights of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to consider representations of things Cajun. He examines the themes expressed within the lyrics of the Cajun musical repertoire and reflects on the ways Cajun cultural practices are portrayed in different genres including feature films, documentaries, and instructional dance videos. He analyzes the dynamic exchanges between musicians, dancers, and spectators at such venues as bars and music festivals. He also considers a number of thorny socio-political issues, including racial tensions and linguistic isolation. At the same time, he describes various efforts by contemporary musicians and their fans to transcend the limitations of cultural stereotypes and social exclusion.

Contents:

Becoming-Cajun

(Geo)graphies of (dé)paysement : dislocation and unsettling in the Cajun music repertoire

"J'ai été au bal" : Cajun sights and sounds

Feeling the event : spaces of affects and the Cajun dance arena

Disenchanting Les bons temps

Laissez les bon temps rouler, or, Death and life in the Cajun dance arena.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [193]-209) and index.

ISBN:

0822330334

0822330202

OCLC:

49699012