Past Course Offerings

Autumn 2006

Slavic 130: Introduction to Slavic Culture: The Vampire in East European and American Culture
Instructor: Dr. Daniel Collins (email: collins.232@osu.edu)
TR 1:30pm-3:18pm
Call # Depends on section
Slavic 130 is a course that discusses different approaches to the problem of Evil. We will focus on the myth of the vampire, an embodiment of Evil that has had enduring power both in East European folk belief and in American popular culture right up to the present day. It has been observed that "every age creates the vampire that it needs" (Nina Auerbach). In other words, different cultures and time periods have different views on the definition and causes of Evil (or even whether Evil exists at all). Therefore, we have to examine the images of the vampire and Evil (or its absence) in the cultural contexts that gave them rise. In our study of vampire beliefs and evil, we will cover a wide variety of topics:

The function of monsters in coping with fears, identity issues, & repressed desires.
Folk beliefs about time, death, the soul, the family, fertility, and diseases.
Views of Evil in different religions-animism, polytheism, dualism, Christianity, and Islam.
Rites of passage and their function in society.
Boundary-crossers and their demonization in East European folklore.
Folk monsters related to the vampire (Evil Eye, rusalka, nav, mora, etc.).
Dracula; his image in Romania; how he came to be a symbol of evil in the West.
The vampire's changing image over the ages and how it relates to different ideas Evil.
Why the vampire has had such enduring power and adaptability as a cultural symbol.

English 270: Introduction to Folklore
Instructor: Ray Cashman
MW 9:30am-11:18am
Call #08491-4
This class explores forms of traditional, vernacular culture--including verbal art, custom, and material culture--shared by men and women from a number of regional, ethnic, religious, and occupational groups. At the same time, we will consider various interpretive, theoretical approaches to examples of folklore and folklife discussed, and we will investigate the history of folklore studies and the cultural contexts in which this field has flourished. Recurring central issues will include the dynamics of tradition, the nature of creativity and artistic expression, the construction of personal and group identity, and the relationship between folklore and world view. Assignments will include quizzes, essays, a folklore collection and analysis project, and a final exam.

English 367.05: US Folk Experience
Instructor: Merrill Kaplan
TR 9:30am-11:18am
Call # 08536-1
In this course, we will investigate how Americans tell stories about the supernatural, the uncanny, the wondrous, and the unbelievable. Students will become familiar with legend and folktale and some of their subgenres. Narratives will be drawn from the traditions of several different cultural and ethnic populations living in the United States. Readings will focus on stories of the supernatural, including ghost stories, accounts of magic, and other difficult-to-credit narrative forms such as fairy tales. In thinking about and analyzing these stories, students will have the opportunity to practice critical reading, develop original theses, articulate their ideas in essays, and refine their arguments through revision.

370 Mythology of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
Instructor: Sam Meier (email: meier.3@osu.edu)
TR 9:30am-11:18am
Call # 12213-9
Prereq: English 110 or 111 or equiv. GEC arts and hums cultures and ideas course.
This course is designed to provide students with a comparative overview of the mythologies of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Its focus is the stories that were recounted as successful integrators of perceived reality in the context of these two major ancient cultures. As such, it will identify and explain basic theoretical issues involved in the analysis of myth; examine the central narratives that have been preserved from those cultures; and investigate the varied perspectives that characterize the world-views and life-concerns expressed in these texts. By reading representative selections of both primary and secondary sources, students will be exposed to both the ancient texts themselves as well as relevant contemporary scholarship.

English 577.01: Folk Groups and Communities: Ethnographies of Muslim and Jewish Columbus
Instructor: Amy Shuman (email: shuman.1@osu.edu)
TR 9:30am-11:18am
Call # 08569-7
Students will work with Muslim and Jewish community institutions in Columbus to create maps of the traditions of everyday life (from grocery stores, to language acquisition, to music, to places for celebrations). Some of these places are invisible to outsiders, and our maps do not necessarily conform to neighborhoods. Rather they reflect the lived experiences of people in the community. Our central interest is in how people become engaged in the transmission of their own culture, not just as passive recipients of instruction. The maps will serve as a starting point for the groups to serve as tour guides for outsiders. This course is generally supported by an Outreach and Engagement Grant and by the Mershon and Melton Centers. No pre-requisites; A packet of readings will introduce students to folklore, heritage, and Columbus groups. Assignments and exams: Mid-term preliminary project plan and final group multi media presentation and actual tour of sites.

English 870: The Folk: Theories of High and Low Culture
Instructor: Amy Shuman (email: shuman.1@osu.edu)
TR 1:30pm-3:18
Call # 08749-1
The concept of the folk is an invention of modernity and nationalism. The classification as "folk" can be used negatively, to exoticize others, to demean particular practices, or positively, to reclaim identity, or as a strategy of empowerment, among other alternatives. This course explores many of the modern binary oppositions that rely on or include the concept of folk, such as belief/superstitition, high/low, oral/literary, modern/traditional. In addition to these academic classifications, we will observe how groups use the category of folk in their understandings of themselves, whether in terms of heritage culture, ethnic customs, or subcultures. Readings will include academic discussions of issues, popular ethnographies in which groups represent themselves, and representations used in museums, festivals or other public events. No prior familiarity with folklore is necessary. Requirements: oral presentation on one of the readings; written responses to readings; term paper.

This course is one of the core "theory" courses in the new folklore curriculum. For further information on the folklore curriculum and the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Folklore (currently under review), please contact Dorothy Noyes, the Director of the Center for Folklore Studies, at noyes.10@osu.edu.

Comparative Studies 880: Culture and Capital: Tradition, Innovation, and Intellectual Property
Instructor: Dorothy Noyes (email: noyes.10@osu.edu)
M 1:30pm-4:18pm
Call# 05559-9
The interactions of vernacular culture with institutional property regimes are currently the subject of intensive debate between corporations, nation-states, social movements (such as the Creative Commons), and intergovernmental organizations (such as UNESCO, the World Intellectual Property Organization, and the World Trade Organization). This seminar uses such debates as a starting point for considering the tensions between innovation and objectification in cultural processes under capitalism. We'll begin with case studies of vernacular creative process, exploring the commonalities between familiar folklore genres and such emergent traditions as hiphop and open-source software, considering how use-rights are negotiated by practitioners. After a brief orientation to the history of copyright and patent law, we'll explore some well-studied encounters between traditional culture, industrial production, and legal regimes in music, wine, and pharmaceuticals. Then we'll consider the proliferation of models in a moment when global corporations struggle between the rage for innovation and the desire for control, while other actors strive for both a piece of the action and the right to opt out of it. Readings will be drawn from cultural and economic anthropology, folklore, history, literary studies, ethnomusicology, and law. I also hope to draw on different disciplinary expertises among the students. Students will be asked to post responses to readings on a listserv before each class meeting. In addition, each student will do a seminar paper, either examining a case study or summarizing a policy debate. Students are urged to contact me if they would like to begin research or reading over the summer (noyes.10@osu.edu).