Politics of Authenticating

Richard Ekins is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Cultural Studies, Ulster University, UK.Robert Porter is Research Director in Communication, Media and Cultural Studies at Ulster University, UK.

• Part I: BeginningsChapter 1. Introducing the Authors and the Riff MethodologyRiff I. Robert PorterChapter 2. Cultural Studies and the Politics of Everyday LifeChapter 3. Why Sociology of Knowledge?Chapter 4. Why George Herbert Mead?Chapter 5. Why Symbolic Interactionism?Riff II. Robert PorterChapter 6. Authenticity as Authenticating Chapter 7. The Move to Grounded TheoryPart II Authenticating New Orleans JazzRiff III. Robert PorterChapter 8. Analytic AutoethnographyChapter 9. Becoming Authentic (1961-1976)Chapter 10. Revisiting Authenticity (2000-2009)Chapter 11. Enthusiasts, Competing Authenticities, and the Move to AcademeChapter 12. New Orleans Music, Authenticity, and the Case of Bob WallisChapter 13. Towards Authenticity as Authenticating: Mainstreaming Authenticity and the Case of Bunk JohnsonChapter 14. Authenticity as Authenticating 1 – Constructing and Reconstructing AuthenticityChapter 15. Authenticity as Authenticating 2 – Adopting and Adapting Authentici

“A highly original take on the history and culture of traditional New Orleans Jazz seen through the lens of modern sociological analysis and focusing on the concept of “authenticity.” For me, as a non-sociologist, the most compelling chapters are those dealing with Ekins’s personal odyssey as a jazz lover and musician, as well as the case histories of other young middle-class men drawn to the siren song that emerged from New Orleans in the early 20th century and later experienced a vibrant revival around the legendary figure of trumpeter Willie “Bunk” Johnson. Readers familiar with jazz history will find this a refreshing, sometimes surprising, approach.”