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Class website
(lecture schedule,
detailed
assignments, etc.)

Introduction to Folklore Studies: Syllabus

Scand/CompLit 230
Introduction to Folklore Studies
Fall Quarter 2010
Class meets Monday thru Thursday, 10:30-11:20, Mechanical Engineering
Building 238.
Instructor: Guntis midchens
Office: Raitt Hall 305 v
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 12-1 pm, and by appointment
e-mail: guntiss@uw.edu
Phone: (206) 616-5224

Course Description
Folklore (traditional stories, beliefs, songs, and customs) is a rich resource for
remembering and understanding people and their worldviews. This course will
survey genres of folklore: Folk Narratives (folktales, legends, myths, and jokes),
and folk poetry (ballads, epic and lyric songs), and study the people who
maintain folklore traditions. A variety of theories and methods applied in folklore
studies during the past two centuries will be introduced in readings and
lectures.

Course Objectives
Learn some classic folklore examples: variants of legends, folktales
and songs in Northern Europe and America.
Encounter and critique some classic analytical approaches to folklore.
Follow a leading 20th century American folklorist Richard Dorson and
critique his fieldwork methods and interpretations.
Do folklore studies: Collect, describe and interpret items of folklore from
oral tradition

Grades
Two collection projects and portfolio: 20%
Class discussion (face-to-face and online) 20%
Two midterm exams and final exam (multiple choice / short answer),
60%

Required Readings
Elliot Oring, Editor, Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An
Introduction (at UW Bookstore)
R. Dorson, Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers (at UW Bookstore)
Additional required readings include websites and selected articles as
listed in the class website

courses.washington.edu/folklore/SCAND230/

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Introduction to Folklore Studies: Syllabus

Last Updated:

07/21/2010

courses.washington.edu/folklore/SCAND230/

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