The Paradox Of Authenticity In A Globalized World

Authenticity in our globalized world is a paradox; culture flows across borders with unprecedented ease while consumers demand "the real thing" like never before. This collection examines how authenticity relates to cultural products in a globalized world, looking closely at how a certain variety of "ethnic" food, or genre of popular music, or indigenous religious belief attains its aura of genuineness, of originality, when almost all traditional cultural products are invented in a certain time and place. The contributors in this volume identify how the aura, "the authority of the original object", is generated in the first place. The methodologies and disciplines come from a variety of sources including cultural studies, qualitative sociology, musicology, literary studies, and beyond. -- From back cover.