Schedule:

Week 1 (Oct 1-5)
Week 2 (Oct 8-12)
Week 3 (Oct 15-19)
Week 4 (Oct 22-26)
Week 5 (Oct 29-Nov 2)
Week 6 (Nov 5-9)
Week 7 (Nov 12-16)
Week 8 (Nov 19-21)
Week 9 (Nov 26-30)
Week 10 (Dec 3-7)
Week 11 (Dec 10-12)

Assignments:

Folk Group (Oct 22)
Folklore Text (Nov 19)
Final Paper (Dec 12)

Week 1 (Oct 1-5): Introduction. 

Mon What is Folklore? Who are the Folk? What do "folklorists" do?

Tues Case study: Fieldwork in Ireland    

All Silver and No Brass, 3-49

Wed Mumming in Northern Europe

Handouts, pp. 5-8

Thurs Ancient traditions, modern traditions   

All Silver and No Brass, 53-121

Week 2 (Oct 8-12):  Modernizing Society

Mon Agrarian Communities

Finnish Folklore, Chapter 3 (pp. 67-95)
Handouts, pp. 2-4

Tues Folk Customs, Folk Wisdom (Proverbs and Riddles)

Finnish Folklore, pp. 255-268

Wed Modernizing Society

Finnish Folklore, Chapter 4 (99-118) and pp. 269-281
All Silver and No Brass, 122-142

Thurs Day of Reflection and Engagement: Folklore Lecture Cancelled

Program of events: http://www.washington.edu/oue/sept11/oct11.html

Week 3 (Oct 15-19):  Legends-- Stories of a Magical World

Mon Norwegian Nature Spirits

Folktales of Norway, 53-86

Tues The Huldre-Folk in Norway

Folktales of Norway, pp. 100-136

Wed The Living and the Dead

Folktales of Norway, pp. 45-49
“Haunted by the Ghost of a Murdered Child” 

Thurs Sorcery; Legend and Belief

Finnish Folklore, 179-186
Folktales of Norway, 27-42
Handout, p. 9

Week 4 (Oct 22-26): Legend Motifs, continued

Assignment 1 (due Monday, Oct 22): Describe a folk group and one or more of its customs.  What genres of folklore appear in this group’s repertoire?  Who are the people who perform this folklore?  What are the occasions for folklore performance?  Interpret the meaning or meanings of the tradition to the people who maintain it. (2-4 pages, double spaced)

Mon The Devil

“The Witch that Was Hurt” 
“Night-Mares” 

Tues Legends and History

Folktales of Norway, 3-24
“Master Builder Legends” 

Wed Contemporary Legends

Finnish Folklore, 251-255
Handout, p. 10

Thurs Fieldwork: Collecting Stories

Peter Bartis, Folklife and Fieldwork (Library of Congress 1990)  <http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/fieldwk.html>
Handout, pp. 11-12

Week 5 (Oct 29-Nov 2): Types of Folktales

Mon Midterm Examination

Tues Animal Tales

All the World's Reward, 23-34
Finnish Folklore, 217-21

Wed Magic Tales, Introduction

Finnish Folklore, 192-203
All the World's Reward, 46-51, 54-60 and 289-293 

Thurs Will the real Cinderella please stand up?: AT 510A

Handouts, pp. 13-16
Perrault (France)   
Grimm (Germany)   
Asbjornsen and Moe (Norway) 

Week 6 (Nov 5-9): Folktale, Narrator and Meaning

Mon Describing the Magic Tale: Content and Structure

Handouts, pp. 17-26

Tues Folktales and their Meanings

Handouts, pp. 27-27

Wed Evald Tang Kristensen and Danish Narrators

AT 425 and 433: All the World's Reward, 38-44, 220-223
“King Lindorm” (Denmark) 

Thurs Ane Margrete Hansen's Magic Tales

All the World's Reward, 3-10, 121-169

Week 7 (Nov 12-16): Folktales and Reality

Monday, Nov 12: Veterans Day Holiday

Tues Ane Margrete Hansen's Novellas and Funny Tales

All the World's Reward, 169-200

Wed Olav Eivindsson Austad's Sense of Humor

All the World's Reward, 13-23, 86-117

Thurs Funny Folktales, The Joke

Finnish Folklore 241-250

Week 8 (Nov 19-21): Folk Poetry

Assignment 2 (due Monday, Nov 19): Collect a story (folktale, legend, joke, anecdote, personal experience narrative) or a folk poem.  Transcribe the text, as close as possible to the words you heard (if possible, work with a tape recorder).  Describe the context (who performed it, to whom, where, when, why).  Have you heard variants?  Identify international motifs found in the Motif Index of Folk Literature, on UW Library's "Databases" page, <http://www.lib.washington.edu/types/databases/>. (If you need to access the database from off campus, follow directions for setting up a proxy server). Look for published variants in the UW Library.

Mon Origins of Folksongs: Introduction

Handout, p. 37

Tues Folksong Repertoires: Guest lecture/interview, Julgi Stalte. Stalte is a Liv from Latvia). Information about one of her singing groups as well as information about the Livs (also called Livonians) appears on the Tulli Lum website.

Wed Folksongs and Identity. Julgi Stalte lecture/interview, continued.

Thursday and Friday: Thanksgiving Holiday

Week 9 (Nov 26-30): Folk Epic

Mon Epic Traditions in Finland

Handouts, pp. 39-42
Finnish Folklore, 125-142

Tues Folk Epic, continued; Ballads

Finnish Folklore, 157-165
Ballad Index

Wed Men, Women and Ballads

Handouts, pp. 43-58

Thurs Lyric Folksongs

Handouts, pp. 59-61
Finnish Folklore, 143-147, 165-175
Max Hunter Folk Song Collection

Week 10 (Dec 3-7): Folk Poetry, Continued

Mon Ritual Songs

Handout, pp. 62
Finnish Folklore, 147-157

Tues Immigrant Songs

Handouts, pp. 63-71

Wed Immigrant songs, continued

Finnish Folklore, 171-172
The Disgusted Swede (click on Finnish, then #19)
Vaka Vanha Vainamoinen (click on Finnish, then #15)

Thurs Folk Poetry, Folk Drama in Ireland Today

All Silver and No Brass, 145-151
Handouts, pp. 72-82

Week 11 (Dec 10-12): Folklore in a Multicultural World

Mon Folklore in the Modern World; Representing People and Traditions

Finnish Folklore, 116-119
Sweden: Skansen Museum

Tues Representation of People, Representation of Folklore

Smithsonian Folklife Festival <http://www.folklife.si.edu/>

Wed Summary: People Studying People

Final Paper (due Wednesday, Dec 12): Following directions for Assignments 1 and 2, describe a folk group and its traditions.  Compare this group and its traditions to groups or traditions discussed in class readings (include bibliographical references).  This paper should be an expanded and revised version of assignment #1 and/or #2. 

Final Examination: Tuesday, Dec 18, 2001, 2:30-4:20 pm        

Last Updated: 09/30/01