Folklore and Mythology

Members of the Steering Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology

Stephen A. Mitchell, Professor of Scandinavian and Folklore (Chair)
Margaret Alexiou, George Seferis Professor of Modern Greek Studies and Professor of Comparative Literature
Patrick K. Ford, Margaret Brooks Robinson Professor of Celtic Languages and Literatures
Deborah D. Foster, Senior Lecturer on Folklore and Mythology (Head Tutor)
Joseph C. Harris, Professor of English and Folklore (on leave spring term)
Michael Herzfeld, Professor of Anthropology
Yunte Huang, Assistant Professor of English and American Literature and Language (on leave spring term)
Gregory Nagy, Francis Jones Professor of Classical Greek Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature (on leave spring term)
Kimberley C. Patton, Assistant Professor in the Comparative and Historical Study of Religion (Divinity School) (on leave 2001-02)
Mary M. Steedly, Professor of Anthropology (on leave fall term)
Maria Tatar, Harvard College Professor and John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures (on leave 2000-01)
Nur Yalman, Professor of Social Anthropology and of Middle Eastern Studies (on leave spring term)
Jan Ziolkowski, Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Medieval Latin and Professor of Comparative Literature

Other Faculty Offering Instruction in Folklore and Mythology

Timothy R. Tangherlini, Visiting Associate Professor of Folklore and Mythology (University of California, Los Angeles)

Affiliated Members of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology

Julie A. Buckler, Harris K. Weston Associate Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures (on leave spring term)
Philip A. Kuhn, Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History and of East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Jon D. Levenson, Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies (Divinity School)
Peter Machinist, Hancock Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages (on leave fall term)
J. Lorand Matory, Professor of Anthropology and of Afro-American Studies (on leave spring term)
Robb Moss, Rudolf Arnheim Lecturer on Filmmaking (on leave spring term)
John E. Murdoch, Professor of the History of Science
Tomás Ó Cathasaigh, Henry L. Shattuck Professor of Irish Studies (on leave spring term)
James R. Russell, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies
Kay Kaufman Shelemay, G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music (on leave fall term)
Lawrence E. Sullivan, Professor of the History of Religions (Divinity School)
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Harvard College Professor and the James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History
Ruth R. Wisse, Martin Peretz Professor of Yiddish Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature
Michael Witzel, Wales Professor of Sanskrit

Tutorials in Folklore and Mythology

Primarily for Undergraduates

*Folklore and Mythology 91r. Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 2425
Deborah D. Foster and members of the Committee
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Instruction and direction of reading on material not treated in regular courses of instruction; special work on topics in folklore, mythology, and oral literature. Normally, this course is available only to concentrators in Folklore and Mythology.
Note: To enroll, applicants must consult the Chairman of the Committee or the Head Tutor. The signature of the Chairman or the Head Tutor is required.

*Folklore and Mythology 98. Tutorial — Junior Year
Catalog Number: 3685
Deborah D. Foster and members of the Committee
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Note: Required of all concentrators. The signature of the Head Tutor or of the Chairman of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology must be obtained. Normally, this course is taken in the second semester of the junior year.

*Folklore and Mythology 99. Tutorial — Senior Year
Catalog Number: 3886
Deborah D. Foster and members of the Committee
Full course. Hours to be arranged.
Note: Required of all concentrators. The signature of the Head Tutor or of the Chairman of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology must be obtained. Students who wish to drop Folklore and Mythology 99 with credit at midyear must obtain the consent of the Chairman and submit a substantial paper on which a final fall term grade can be based.

Comparative and Methodological

For Undergraduates and Graduates

[Folklore and Mythology 100. An Introduction to Folklore & Mythology ]
Catalog Number: 2201
Stephen A. Mitchell
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Surveys the major forms of folklore (e.g. myths, legends, ballads, epics, beliefs, rituals, festivals) and the theoretical approaches used in their study. Analyzes how folklore shapes national, regional, and ethnic identities, as well as daily life, and considers the function of folklore within the groups that perform and use it.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

[*Folklore and Mythology 103. Oral Literature]
Catalog Number: 5039 Enrollment: Limited to 12; as part of tutorial program, preference given to concentrators.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to oral literature in (some of) its social, historical and cultural contexts. Explores the dimensions of verbal performance by conducting fieldwork and reading transcribed (and sometimes translated) oral texts. Examines issues of orality and literacy, performance, transmission, and interpretation.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Required of all concentrators.

*Folklore and Mythology 104. Theory and Methodology of Folklore and Mythology
Catalog Number: 3311 Enrollment: Limited to 12; as part of tutorial program, limited to concentrators.
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4:30. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17, 18
Introduction to the development of folklore and mythology as fields of study, with particular attention to the methodological approaches suited to their areas of enquiry. Surveys the study of folklore and mythology in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but focuses on theoretical contributions to the study of folklore, mythology, and oral literature in recent decades.

*Folklore and Mythology 105. Fieldwork and Ethnography in Folklore
Catalog Number: 3789 Enrollment: Limited to 12; as part of tutorial program, preference given to concentrators.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (spring term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Interpretation of culture: issues and problems of ethnography. Examines problems of cultural interpretation that arise in the context of fieldwork. Both ethnographic and theoretical readings serve as the material for class discussion and the foundation for experimental ethnographic projects.
Note: Required of all concentrators.

[Folklore and Mythology 106. Myth, an Introduction]
Catalog Number: 5619
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
A sampling of the classical problems of and approaches to myth as sacred story, with emphasis on structuralist methods and comparative mythology. Primary material mainly drawn from the Indo-European language area, especially Northern Europe. Some attention to thematic clusters such as “the goddess” and “the sacrificed son.”
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02. Readings in English.

Folklore and Mythology 108. Witchcraft
Catalog Number: 0340
Stephen A. Mitchell
Half course (spring term). Tu., Th., at 1.
Examines witchcraft from cross-cultural, historical, and literary points of view. Although witches and witchcraft are considered in their non-Western settings, the course focuses on events in Europe and America, tracing the development of the relatively mild reaction against ‘demonism’ and ‘wise women’ of the early Middle Ages into the ‘witch craze’ of the 16th and 17th centuries. The portrayal of witches in folklore and literature is also considered.

[*Folklore and Mythology 109. Shamanism]
Catalog Number: 6540 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
James R. Russell
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
The shaman is a type of religious practitioner found in many cultures, who undergoes a calling, trauma, and initiatory training; during a ritualized drama, in an ecstatic state, he travels to other worlds, to obtain healing or information; and returns. Topics include: definition; the calling and dismemberment; costumes, dances, instruments, and the arts; poetry and the folk-tale; shamanistic hallucinogens; the question of possession and the politics of the field; otherworld geography; case studies of Siberian cultures, Tibet, Australia, Scythia, Iran, ancient Greece; shamanism and homosexuality; and Santeria and Vodoun.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Cross-listed Courses

Anthropology 105. Food and Culture
[Anthropology 274. Sovereignty, Ethnicity, and Pluralism]
[Anthropology 276. New Ethnographies in the Anthropology of Social Experience]
[Anthropology 278 (formerly Anthropology 183). The Charisma of Saints, and the Cults of Relics, Amulets, Images, and Shrines]
*Comparative Literature 207. Theory and Methods in Comparative Oral Traditions: Seminar
[Medieval Latin 117. Fairy Tales and Their Tellers in the Middle Ages]
[Religion 45. Martyrs, Mystics, and Heretics: Alternative Christianities]
[Religion 1025. Ritual and the Religious Life: A Thematic Introduction to Religion]
[Social Analysis 28. Culture, Illness, and Healing: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Medicine in Society]
[Sociology 60. Race and Ethnic Relations]

Special Field Courses

For Undergraduates and Graduates

[Folklore and Mythology 113. Women Storytellers in Africa]
Catalog Number: 3257 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Examines oral narrative performances by women in Africa. Emphasis will be on Swahili performers from the East African Coast in historical and contemporary contexts, but comparisons to performances by women from other parts of the continent will also be made. Readings are in English and include histories, autobiography, literary stories and transcribed and translated performances of oral narrative.
Note: Expected to be given in 2001–02.

Folklore and Mythology 114. Embodied Expression/Expressive Body: Dance as a Medium of Cultural and Personal Meaning
Catalog Number: 7982 Enrollment: Limited to 16.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (fall term). M., 2–5; occassional Friday afternoon dance workshops. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8, 9
This course will examine the ways in which the dancing body is both a site of personal experience and a sign of cultural meaning. By observing dance performances (live and on film), participating in dance workshops, and reading ethnographic and theoretical texts, we will attempt to come to understand the emergent meaning of dance performances, from the perspective of both dancer and observer.

[Folklore and Mythology 115. The African Oral Tradition]
Catalog Number: 5663
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Introduction to African oral narratives, focusing on the nature of orality as it functions prior to and next to literacy in the African context. Examines the way in which symbol and metaphor work in oral art forms; considers methods of analysis of oral narrative, including structuralism, semiotics, and performance theory; looks at the creative and destructive antics of the trickster figure; and explores the oral residue in early African novels.
Note: Expected to be given in 2002–03.

Folklore and Mythology 150. Korean Folklore
Catalog Number: 2148
Timothy R. Tangherlini (University of California, Los Angeles)
Half course (fall term). Tu., Th., at 10. EXAM GROUP: 12
Introduction to the varied traditional cultural expressions of Korea. The main emphasis of the course is on Korean rituals (shamanistic and Confucian-influenced), folk narratives (myths, legends, folktales), folk performances (t’alch’um and p’ansori) and folk music (primarily p’ungmul.) Other aspects of folk culture, such as food ways, clothing, material culture, festivals and architecture will also be explored. Whenever possible, the course will include explorations of the similarities between Korean traditions and those found in other East Asian countries as well as traditions of other more disparate cultures. In part, the course aims to identify what makes Korean traditional expressions Korean.

*Folklore and Mythology 191r. Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 3255
Stephen A. Mitchell 7056 and members of the Committee
Half course (fall term; repeated spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Advanced reading in topics not covered in regular courses.

Cross-listed Courses

[Afro-American Studies 141 (formerly Anthropology 157). Afro-Atlantic Religions]
[Akkadian 144. Akkadian Divination Texts]
[Akkadian 145. Akkadian Incantations and Rituals]
[Ancient Near East 124. Myth and Mythmaking in the Biblical and Ancient Near Eastern World]
Ancient Near East 127. Prophecy in Ancient Israel
[Anthropology 184. Ethnicity in the Americas: The Indian Question]
Armenian Studies 100. Armenian Epic
Celtic 106. Folklore of Ireland
[Celtic 114. Early Irish Historical Tales]
[Celtic 138r. The Mabinogi]
[Celtic 150. Celtic Paganism]
Celtic 184. Early Irish Literature
Celtic 225a. Introduction to Middle Welsh
Celtic 225b. Continuing Middle Welsh
Classical Archaeology 131. Introduction to Greek Art and Archaeology, ca. 1200–300 BCE
[*German 231. The Cultural Legacy of the Brothers Grimm]
[Indian Studies 206. Old Indian and Eurasian Creation Myths: Seminar]
Japanese History 116a. History of Japanese Religions: Conference Course
Japanese History 116b. History of Japanese Religions: Conference Course
Literature and Arts A-68. Poets and Poetry in the Celtic Literary Tradition
Literature and Arts C-14. The Concept of the Hero in Greek Civilization
[Literature and Arts C-18. Hindu Myth, Image, and Pilgrimage]
[Literature and Arts C-20. The Hero of Irish Myth and Saga]
Literature and Arts C-22. European Culture in the Middle Ages
Literature and Arts C-37. The Bible and Its Interpreters
*Music 190r. Proseminar: Topics in World Music
*Music 190rr. Proseminar: Topics in World Music
[Music 194r (formerly Music 190r). Special Topics: Proseminar]
Music 208r. Ethnomusicology: Seminar
[Religion 1025. Ritual and the Religious Life: A Thematic Introduction to Religion]
Scandinavian 103. Scandinavian Mythology and Folklore
[*Scandinavian 200a. Introduction to Old Norse]
[Scandinavian 200br. Old Norse Literature: Edda and Saga]
[Sumerian 141. Sumerian Myths and Epics]
[Sumerian 145. Sumerian Incantations and Rituals]