Living Folklore

by Sims, Martha C.

• ISBN13: 9780874216110
• ISBN10: 0874216117
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-07-30
• Publisher: Utah State Univ Pr

Summary

Living Folklore is a comprehensive, straightforward introduction to folklore as it is lived, shared and practiced in contemporary settings. Drawing on examples from diverse American groups and experiences, this text gives the student a strong foundation--from the field's history and major terms to theories, interpretive approaches, and fieldwork.Many teachers of undergraduates find the available folklore textbooks too complex or unwieldy for an introductory level course. It is precisely this criticism that Living Folklore addresses; while comprehensive and rigorous, the book is specifically intended to meet the needs of those students who are just beginning their study of the discipline. Its real strength lies in how it combines carefully articulated foundational concepts with relevant examples and a student-oriented teaching philosophy.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Preface	xi
Folklore	1	(29)
What is folklore?	1	(11)
A working definition	1	(7)
Scholarly definitions of folklore	8	(4)
Genres of folklore	12	(7)
Defining folklore beyond genre labels: texts and contexts	19	(2)
A brief history of folklore study	21	(9)
Groups	30	(34)
What is a folk group?	31	(3)
Definitions	34	(4)
How folk groups form	38	(3)
Self-identification and group membership	41	(3)
Family, school and occupational groups	44	(12)
Family	45	(2)
School groups	47	(3)
Occupational groups	50	(3)
Example: folklore in the music store	53	(3)
Groups and belief	56	(8)
Example: belief and contemporary legends	60	(4)
Tradition	64	(30)
What is tradition?	64	(4)
Tradition is both lore and process	65	(1)
Tradition helps to create and confirm a sense of identity	66	(2)
Identified as a tradition by the community	68	(1)
How do people learn and share traditions?	68	(6)
Example: tradition in our daily lives	72	(2)
Do traditions disappear?	74	(2)
Dynamic and conservative elements of tradition	76	(6)
Inventing tradition	82	(2)
The question of authenticity	84	(3)
Example: traditions in folk art	87	(7)
Ritual	94	(33)
What is ritual?	95	(7)
Low-context and high-context rituals	98	(1)
Invented ritual	99	(3)
The question of belief in sacred and secular rituals	102	(3)
Liminality and ritual space	105	(5)
Types of rituals	110	(11)
Rites of passage	111	(3)
Coming of age rituals	114	(5)
Initiation rituals	119	(1)
Naming rituals	120	(1)
Example: rituals and private and public identity	121	(6)
Performance	127	(47)
What is performance?	128	(5)
Example: a proverbial performance	129	(4)
The study of performance	133	(1)
Performance texts	134	(2)
Texture	136	(1)
Context	137	(9)
Physical context	138	(1)
Social context	139	(2)
Recognizing texts in context: performance markers/framing	141	(3)
Reflexivity	144	(2)
Emergence	146	(9)
Folklore that pushes the boundaries	150	(2)
Example: performance that transcends roles and rules	152	(3)
Aesthetics	155	(19)
Critic v. group consensus	157	(1)
Traditionality	157	(2)
Skill	159	(2)
Practicality	161	(1)
The nature of aesthetic response	162	(5)
Personal narrative in performance	167	(3)
Example: A Personal Narrative Emerges	170	(4)
Approaches to Interpreting Folklore	174	(28)
Functionalism	174	(5)
Structuralism	179	(8)
Psychoanalytic interpretation	187	(5)
Post-structuralist approaches	192	(10)
Feminist interpretations	193	(2)
Reciprocal ethnography	195	(3)
Intersectionality	198	(4)
Fieldwork and Ethnography	202	(23)
Collecting data: the nuts and bolts of fieldwork	203	(15)
Finding Ideas	203	(2)
Getting started on fieldwork	205	(2)
Developing and asking good questions	207	(2)
Some types of questions	209	(1)
Example: using open-ended questions	209	(2)
Field notes	211	(1)
Example: write-up of field notes	212	(4)
Transcribing and transcripts	216	(2)
Returning from the field: follow-up research	218	(1)
The people factor: interpersonal and ethical concerns	218	(7)
Insider and outsider roles	229
Observation and participant-observation roles	220	(1)
Rapport: creating and understanding researcher-consultant relationships	221	(1)
Example: complex relationships and responsibilities	222	(1)
Ethics	223	(2)
Examples of Folklore Projects	225	(48)
One of the guys (Joe Ringler)	226	(14)
Gay rituals: outing, biking, and sewing (Mickey Weems)	240	(11)
Roadside memorials: material focus of love, devotion, and remembrance (Gary E. A. Saum)	251	(15)
The art of gunsmithing in central Ohio: Heritage Gunsmiths, Inc. (Kevin Eyster)	266	(7)
Suggestions for Activities and Projects	273	(8)
Group and classroom activities	274	(1)
Personal reflection	275	(1)
Library research	276	(1)
Fieldwork projects	276	(1)
Integrated projects---bringing it all together	277	(4)
Notes	281	(5)
References	286	(7)
Index	293