Understanding Youth Culture Through Autograph Books
The Israeli Case
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2806856 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rina Shapira, Hanna Herzog |
| Year | 1984 |
| Volume | 97 |
| Issue | 386 |
| Pages | 442 |
| Publication date | 1984-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of American Folklore (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8715 • E-ISSN: 1535-1882 |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2307/540544 |
| OpenAlex | W2326764404 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN ISRAEL, the custom of writing rhymes and sayings for each other in is very widespread. Usually inscribed at the end of a school year, upon graduation, or for a classmate who is moving away, such books have been a part of youth culture for decades, not only in Israeli society, but in various Western countries (see Dundes 1962). In Israel the volumes are called while known in Western Europe as poesie, and in English-speaking countries as memory or names books. Despite the varied appellations, the contents of books in different countries are startlingly similar. Taken together, these titles indicate the kind of material found in all of them: poesie suggests folk poetry in the form of simple rhymes and popular sayings; memories identifies the desire of children to remember each other and/or events experienced together; and points to signatures and handwriting, both means of memorializing and remembering. We chose the subject of autograph books for our research despite-or perhaps because of-the common opinion that these are children's amusements of no significance. We maintain that when the entry in the book is written, it has a social meaning for the parties involved-the writer and the owner of the book-and that, moreover, a study of such books, like the study of other folklore patterns, can teach us about the culture and social characteristics of the entire group of which the writers are a part. In such a study many approaches are possible. One can learn from these books about youth culture in general, or focus more closely on the different attitudes of boys and girls toward one another or on the problems of being young. In this paper we have chosen to focus on the aspect of age.' In Israel the age at which these books are most common is between 12 and 16, that is, the adolescent period. We have chosen to try to discern the patterns and ways that
Art · Art history · Autograph · Media studies · Sociology · Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Themes in Literature Analysis
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,1 |
| Citation span | 1986 - 1997 (12) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |