This book attempts to study the contemporary popular culture of Samos from the perspective of modern Greek folklore. To achieve this, methodological and theoretical-interpretive tools from related sciences, such as Social Anthropology and Sociology, were employed. The study was designed as a purely folkloric reading and interpretation of the modern and postmodern popular culture of the island, as shaped by new economic and social conditions, the dominance of tourist enterprises, the activities of associations, and the presence of expatriate Samiians, as well as contemporary processes of managing the cultural heritage, the introduction of new cultural models, folkloric revival, and the creation of modern forms of popular culture. In light of developments and the influences of cultural globalization, the shift from rituality to sociality and the mythologization of the past are markedly observed.
What is included in the pages of this book is the product of systematic and continuous experiential and participatory observation and research of the phenomena of modern Samian popular culture, combining emic and etic approaches, from the mid-1990s to the present day. This observation, along with the coding of local sources and the study of the relevant literature, led to the realization of the respective research questions and their interpretive approach. The writings can be considered a case study, applicable to similar cases in other Greek places.
