The Written Suburb: An American Site, An Ethnographic Dilemma (Contemporary Ethnography)
"A wonderful book that . . . is shrewd and often quite funny . . . [and] employs the tools of an anthropologist to explain the strange folkways of late 20th-century Pennsylvania suburbanites."—Philadelphia Inquirer"A subversive and postmodern work about the town of Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. The book considers Wyeth country—what kind of place it is and how it is constituted. . . . Dorst asks questions about how the place represents itself to itself and to tourists."—Lingua Franca"The Written Suburbcontains brilliant analysis of the myth of tradition and the workings of museums and historical societies. . . . Dorst's elegant, ironic prose makes his assault on the toxic combination of commerce and nostalgia sharp and satisfying. Folklorists should read, argue with, teach, and visitThe Written Suburbagain and again."—Journal of American Folklore"The Written Suburbpresents a provocative and important methodological paradox for those communications scholars who practice or are interested in ethnography. . . . As a self-conscious post-ethnography, this work is powerful—and often humorous—both in describing the 'very weirdness' of suburban America in general and in demonstrating the problems in producing such a description."—Journal of Communication"The strength ofThe Written Suburblies in Dorst's clear and lucid exposition of the cultural logic of postmodernity and in his application of the postmodern research agenda."—American Journal of Sociology