Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: “The Good Times Are Killing Me” 1

1. Becoming-Cajun 9

2. (Geo)graphies of (Dé)paysement: Dislocation and Unsettling in the Cajun Music Repertoire 40

3. “J’ai Été au Bal”: Cajun Sights and Sounds 73

4. Feeling the Event: Spaces of Affects and the Cajun Dance Arena 110

5. Disenchanting Les Bons Temps
132

6. Laissez les Bons Temps Rouler, or, Death and Life in the Cajun Dance Arena 158

Notes 169

Works Cited 193

Index 211

Winner, 2004 Wayne State University Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award

"Disenchanting Les Bons Temps is an elegant riddle that stands above a book that takes up Cajun music and tells the story of the author's immersion into its ambient culture. The book accomplishes two principal tasks. It brings Cajun music into the growing field of cultural studies, a discipline, neither fish nor fowl, that marries theories based on total social facts--facts that determine the patterns, orders, and events of history--to sociology. Not anthropology, yet nonetheless a human science, cultural studies cuts a path between synchronic analysis of social groups and treatment of conceptual formations that determine how people live their lives." — Tom Conley, SubStance

"[E]xpands the reader's critical understanding of the paradoxes of cultural constructs and the borders between them, while masterfully guiding the reader through some difficult critical territory, systematically resituating , and reinforcing its major arguments. . . . By the close of this engaging amalgam of scholarly discourse and personal passion, it's a good bet the reader will share the author's enchantment with hybridity and his hope for continued growth and expansion of Cajun cultural practices." — Les Essif, L'Esprit Créateur

"[T]he first genuinely scholarly treatment of the music of the Louisiana Acadians. . . . [T]his study addresses important cultural matters—film, music events, sociopolitical tensions. . . . Recommended." — T. E. Miller, Choice

"[V]ery informative. . . . [C]lear, concise, and rich in historical and bibliographical data." — Eric Sellin, International Journal of Francophone Studies

"An outstanding addition to the scholarship in cultural studies and French and Francophone studies, Stivale's book cuts across several disciplines and brilliantly integrates first-hand ethnographic work with close literary and textual analysis. This is perhaps his most important contribution to the current literature. Indeed, this volume will draw readers from a variety of disciplines and will fit well in several courses including French and Francophone cultures, approaches to (French) cultural studies, ethnomusicology, and anthropology." — Denis M. Provencher, The French Review

"Charles J. Stivale’s new book, Disenchanting Les Bons Temps was inspired by his years of experience in the sweaty dancehalls of the Louisiana bayous. From his practice of Cajun waltzes, two-steps and jitterbugs, Stivale developed a complex appreciation of a regional folk culture facing the dilemmas of commodification as its music and cuisine have entered the American mainstream. This not only helped Stivale understand the beauty and art in Cajun culture; it helped him become a better dancer." — Vince Carducci, Metro Times (Detroit MI)

Winner, 2004 Wayne State University Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award

"Disenchanting Les Bons Temps is an elegant riddle that stands above a book that takes up Cajun music and tells the story of the author's immersion into its ambient culture. The book accomplishes two principal tasks. It brings Cajun music into the growing field of cultural studies, a discipline, neither fish nor fowl, that marries theories based on total social facts--facts that determine the patterns, orders, and events of history--to sociology. Not anthropology, yet nonetheless a human science, cultural studies cuts a path between synchronic analysis of social groups and treatment of conceptual formations that determine how people live their lives." —Tom Conley, SubStance

"[E]xpands the reader's critical understanding of the paradoxes of cultural constructs and the borders between them, while masterfully guiding the reader through some difficult critical territory, systematically resituating , and reinforcing its major arguments. . . . By the close of this engaging amalgam of scholarly discourse and personal passion, it's a good bet the reader will share the author's enchantment with hybridity and his hope for continued growth and expansion of Cajun cultural practices." —Les Essif, L'Esprit Créateur

"[T]he first genuinely scholarly treatment of the music of the Louisiana Acadians. . . . [T]his study addresses important cultural matters—film, music events, sociopolitical tensions. . . . Recommended." —T. E. Miller, Choice

"[V]ery informative. . . . [C]lear, concise, and rich in historical and bibliographical data." —Eric Sellin, International Journal of Francophone Studies

"An outstanding addition to the scholarship in cultural studies and French and Francophone studies, Stivale's book cuts across several disciplines and brilliantly integrates first-hand ethnographic work with close literary and textual analysis. This is perhaps his most important contribution to the current literature. Indeed, this volume will draw readers from a variety of disciplines and will fit well in several courses including French and Francophone cultures, approaches to (French) cultural studies, ethnomusicology, and anthropology." —Denis M. Provencher, The French Review

"Charles J. Stivale’s new book, Disenchanting Les Bons Temps was inspired by his years of experience in the sweaty dancehalls of the Louisiana bayous. From his practice of Cajun waltzes, two-steps and jitterbugs, Stivale developed a complex appreciation of a regional folk culture facing the dilemmas of commodification as its music and cuisine have entered the American mainstream. This not only helped Stivale understand the beauty and art in Cajun culture; it helped him become a better dancer." —Vince Carducci, Metro Times (Detroit MI)

”Disenchanting Les Bons Temps is an outstanding and original contribution to both the literatures on popular/folk music and to contemporary debates about the practice of cultural studies.” — Lawrence Grossberg, author of, Bringing It All Back Home: Essays on Cultural Studies

”Charles J. Stivale has a unique ability to bring together his deep and fluent understanding of Deleuzean theory with his passion and enthusiasm for Cajun music. It's not an obvious combination of elements, but Stivale pulls it off with grace and skill. I attribute that to the clear way that his love for the diverse ingredients of this scholarly gumbo shines through his prose.” — Gilbert B. Rodman, author of, Elvis after Elvis: The Posthumous Career of a Living Legend

Permission to Photocopy (coursepacks)

If you are requesting permission to photocopy material for classroom use, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at copyright.com;

If the Copyright Clearance Center cannot grant permission, you may request permission from our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).

Permission to Reprint

If you are requesting permission to reprint DUP material (journal or book selection) in another book or in any other format, contact our Copyrights & Permissions Manager (use Contact Information listed below).

Images/Art

Many images/art used in material copyrighted by Duke University Press are controlled, not by the Press, but by the owner of the image. Please check the credit line adjacent to the illustration, as well as the front and back matter of the book for a list of credits. You must obtain permission directly from the owner of the image. Occasionally, Duke University Press controls the rights to maps or other drawings. Please direct permission requests for these images to permissions@dukeupress.edu.
For book covers to accompany reviews, please contact the publicity department.

Subsidiary Rights/Foreign Translations

If you're interested in a Duke University Press book for subsidiary rights/translations, please contact permissions@dukeupress.edu. Include the book title/author, rights sought, and estimated print run.

Disability Requests

Instructions for requesting an electronic text on behalf of a student with disabilities are available here.

Rights & Permissions Contact Information

Email: permissions@dukeupress.edu

Email contact for coursepacks: asstpermissions@dukeupress.edu

Fax: 919-688-4574

Mail:
Duke University Press
Rights and Permissions
905 W. Main Street
Suite 18B
Durham, NC 27701

For all requests please include:

1. Author's name. If book has an editor that is different from the article author, include editor's name also.

2. Title of the journal article or book chapter and title of journal or title of book

3. Page numbers (if excerpting, provide specifics)

For coursepacks, please also note: The number of copies requested, the school and professor requesting

For reprints and subsidiary rights, please also note: Your volume title, publication date, publisher, print run, page count, rights sought