[*Folklore and Mythology 90d. African Women Storytellers]
Catalog Number: 8479 Enrollment: Limited to 15.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Reading (in translation) transcribed oral narratives, praise poems, autobiographies, plays and songs, in conjunction with historical and ethnographic sources, this seminar will attempt to understand the way in which (some) African women have shaped and been shaped by their societies, nations, and families, how they envision their lives in relation to these social groupings, and how they express their experiences through these various performances.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. Preference given to Folklore and Mythology and African and African American Studies Concentrators, and students pursuing a Secondary Field in Folklore and Mythology.
Folklore and Mythology 90f. Conspiracy Theories, Rumor Panics, and Popular Culture
Catalog Number: 6106
Stephen A. Mitchell
Half course (spring term). Th., 1-3. EXAM GROUP: 15, 16
Reviews American popular culture at the extremes in light of theories about ’scapegoats’, rumor (or moral) panics, and Internet hoaxes. Probable case studies include conspiracies about 9/11, "blood for oil", the CBS National Guard hoax, the Kennedy assassination, the Apollo 11 moon landing, Area 51, SRA, and ZOG.
Folklore and Mythology 90h. Hero and Trickster - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 18681 Enrollment: Limited to 12. for undergraduates only.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (fall term). Th., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Human imagination has conjured two enduring mythic characters, which create habitable worlds for people in stories from cultures all over the world. Sometimes branded Hero, sometimes Trickster, these two share traits and antics, yet they seem to endorse fundamentally different values. This seminar examines both hero and trickster in several cultural contexts, comparing them with each other and with their correlates worldwide, primarily in oral traditions, but also where each has migrated to other media.
*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 available only to concentrators in Folklore and Mythology.
Note: Applicants must consult the Chairman or the Head Tutor of the Committee. The signature of the Chairman or the Head Tutor is required.
*Folklore and Mythology 97 (formerly *Folklore and Mythology 97a). Fieldwork and Ethnography in Folklore
Catalog Number: 3789 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (spring term). Th., 3–5. EXAM GROUP: 17, 18
Introduces concentrators to the study of traditions - their performance, collection, representation and interpretation. Both ethnographic and theoretical readings serve as the material for class discussion and the foundation for experimental fieldwork projects.
Note: Required of all, and limited to, concentrators.
*Folklore and Mythology 98a (formerly *Folklore and Mythology 97b). History and Theory of Folklore Methodology
Catalog Number: 5039 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (fall term). W., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
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 especially on theoretical contributions to the study of folklore, mythology, and oral literature in recent decades. Readings from Bauman, Bronner, Dundes, Georges, Lord, Oring, Propp, Tedlock, and Zumwalt among many others.
Note: Required of all, and limited to, concentrators.
*Folklore and Mythology 98b (formerly *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 Chairman of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology required. Normally taken in the second term 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 Chairman of the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology required. Graded Sat/Unsat.
[Folklore and Mythology 126. Continuing Oral Tradition in Native American Literature]
Catalog Number: 9787
Lisa T. Brooks
Half course (fall term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Rather than textual artifacts of a cultural past, Native American oral literatures are living traditions in particular landscapes, activities in which communities are engaged. Features trips to local Native places and close readings of recorded communal tellings and literary texts. Explores the role of oral traditions in Native American literature, emphasizing the intertextual and interdependent relationship between the oral and the written.
Note: Expected to be given in 2010–11. This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the General Education requirement for Culture and Belief or the Core area requirement for either Foreign Cultures or Literature and Arts C, but not both Core areas. This course fulfills the requirement that one of the eight General Education courses also engages substantially with Study of the Past.
Folklore and Mythology 172. Quilts and Quiltmaking - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 33788
Felicity A. Lufkin
Half course (fall term). Tu., 4–6.
Are quilts the great American (folk) art? From intricately stitched whole-cloth quilts, to the improvisational patchworks of Gee’s Bend; from the graphic simplicity of Amish quilts to the cozy pastels of depression-era quilts; from the Aids Quilt to art quilts; quilts have taken on extraordinary significance in American culture. This class surveys the evolution of quilt-making as a social practice, considering the role of quilts in articulations of gender, ethnic, class and religious identities, and their positions within discourses of domesticity, technology, consumerism, and cultural hierarchy.
Folklore and Mythology 173. Handmade Objects and Their Makers - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 48895
Felicity A. Lufkin
Half course (spring term). W., 4–6. EXAM GROUP: 9
In the wake of the industrial revolution, John Ruskin argued for the social and moral value of handmade objects. The Arts and Crafts movement, the Bauhaus, and the Japanese Folk Craft movement were inspired in part by such ideas. And while popular or domestic practices of handmaking -- knitting, sewing, woodworking, etc. -- might seem quite separate from these movements, the current resurgence of handicrafts, fueled paradoxically by new medias and technologies, both echoes Ruskin’s moral concerns and pushes at the boundaries separating high and low, art and craft. This seminar examines the historical, intellectual, and political influences on how handmade objects and the practices by which they are made are valued and experienced in the present day.
*Folklore and Mythology 191r. Supervised Reading and Research
Catalog Number: 3255
Deborah D. Foster 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.