Folklore and Mythology 90e. Folklore and Nationalism - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 2278
Stephen A. Mitchell
Half course (spring term). Tu., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 16, 17
Explores the relationship between folklore and national identity. Also considered: the valorization of folk traditions in elite cultural monuments; the manipulation of culture by political bodies; culture and tourism; authenticity; and intellectual property.
[Folklore and Mythology 90f. The Moonbat Monologues: Tinfoil Hats, Conspiracies, and Popular Culture] - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 6106
Stephen A. Mitchell
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
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.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
*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 of the Committee or the Head Tutor. 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). Oral Literature and the History of Folkloristics
Catalog Number: 5039 Enrollment: Limited to 12.
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (fall term). M., 2–4. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8
Considers the implications of orality, literacy, performance, and transmission from ethnographic, literary and historical points of view. Examples and case-studies typically drawn from the Balkans, the American Southwest, Africa, and medieval Europe. Tutorial readings include works by Parry, Lord, Nagy, Ong, Foley, Zumthor, and Bauman.
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 106. Witchcraft and Charm Magic]
Catalog Number: 8749
Stephen A. Mitchell
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Reviews witchcraft and magic in medieval and early modern Europe (ca. 400–1700), focusing on such topics as pagan survivals in post-Conversion Europe; the construction of witchcraft in Church doctrine; charm magic and its performance in folk tradition; the witch-hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries; folk beliefs; the portrayal of witchcraft in film, fiction and folklore; and the historical roots of neo-paganism.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
Folklore and Mythology 111. In Search of Sung Narrative - (New Course)
Catalog Number: 2942
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (spring term). M., 2–5. EXAM GROUP: 7, 8, 9
Ballads, the royal family of folksong, will occupy the center of our "search," but the performance of genres (lay, epic, romance) that flourished before and alongside the ballad also give rise to many questions: How does performance condition narrative? In what sense were "songs" such as the Chanson de Roland or the Hildebrandslied "sung"? Does the use of the harp (lyre) matter to the narrative of Beowulf? And since the "search" is timeless: what was Billie Joe throwing off the Tallahatchie Bridge?
[Folklore and Mythology 112. Introduction to the Ballad]
Catalog Number: 9872
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Narrative folk songs of Scotland and England present fascinating opportunities and questions for the student of folklore or literature. We will look into the birth, development, and dispersal of the genre and into the life of the traditional ballad. Readings (and ‘listenings’) from the Child corpus will be supplemented by ballad texts in translation from other European traditions. Special attention to language, narrative structures, and contemporary reflexes of the classic ballad (especially in North America).
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
[Folklore and Mythology 114. Embodied Expression/Expressive Body: Dance in Cultural Context]
Catalog Number: 7982 Enrollment: Limited to 16.
Deborah D. Foster
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
An examination of the ways in which the dancing body internalizes and communicates cultural knowledge to both dancer and observer. By participating in dance workshops, watching dance performances (live and on film), and reading ethnographic and theoretical texts, we attempt to understand the emergent meaning of dance performances from multiple perspectives.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
[Folklore and Mythology 124. Southern Folklore]
Catalog Number: 9081
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Chiefly an introduction to the folk literature of the South—folk tales, ballads, and similar oral and popular genres—and to its cultural contexts. An unsystematic treatment of literary works that show interesting relations to folklore backgrounds. Special emphasis on Zora Neale Hurston, folklorist and writer.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
[Folklore and Mythology 127. Motherland: Gender, Indigeneity, and the American Environment]
Catalog Number: 4794
Lisa T. Brooks
Half course (spring term). Hours to be arranged.
Seminar focused on contemporary Native American literature that explores the representation and conceptualization of a feminine, and ecologically potent, American land. Readings may include Cheryl Savageau’s Mother/land (poetry), Leslie Marmon Silko’s Gardens in the Dunes, Marilou Awiakta’s Selu, Linda Hogan’s Power, Deborah Miranda’s Indian Cartography (poetry), as well as parallel comparative texts such as Susan Orleans’ The Orchid Thief, Alice Walker’s "In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens," and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09.
[Folklore and Mythology 162. Edda and Saga: Myth and Reality of the Viking Age]
Catalog Number: 4003
Joseph C. Harris
Half course (fall term). Hours to be arranged.
Iceland produced a literature unrivaled in the medieval period for the insights its “eddas” grant into the mind of pre-Christian Europeans. The “sagas” tell of real men and women in pagan times and in the first Christian century, embodying classic themes of great literature: love and death, jealousy, rivalry, revenge, loyalty and betrayal—above all honor and pride.
Note: Expected to be given in 2008–09. Readings in translation; students who have studied the language will have opportunities to exercise their Old Norse.
*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.