Fieldwork and Ethnography in Folklore: A Tutorial in Cultural Documentation and Community Engagement

FOLKMYTH 97 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This tutorial introduces students to the study of cultural traditions, beliefs, and artistic expressions—their performance, collection, representation and interpretation—through the practice of ethnography. Both ethnographic and theoretical readings serve as the material for class discussion and the foundation for ethnographic fieldwork.

At once a crash course in ethnographic theory and ethics, and a practicum in qualitative methods, FM97 weds scholarly inquiry and academic study to practical experience in cultural documentation and personal involvement with local tradition bearers and folk communities. Guided by an interdisciplinary collection of texts, students will have the opportunity to study folklore from the ground up, not only through an academic lens, but through personal relationships, cultural participation, and inquisitive explorations of local communities. Throughout the semester you will be invited to develop skills in qualitative research, cultural documentation, proposal design, interviewing, and the arts of interpretation as you try your hand at fieldwork and ethnography. By examining folkways, expressive culture, traditions, and performances, and interrogating their import in the daily lives of individual and groups, we will aim to bridge the divide between grand theories and everyday practices, between intellectual debates and lived experiences, between the academic institution and the vernacular world. Ultimately, this course aims to bring “the folks” themselves into the center of the academic study, discussion, and debate. And it aims to give you the tools to help amplify and illuminate their voices, traditions, practices, and lore.

Course Notes

Required of all concentrators, but open to all.