Spring 2006
English 270: Introduction to Folklore
Instructor: Patrick Mullen
TuTh 9:30-11:18
Call #07985-3
This course introduces the student to the principal genres, folkgroups, and theories and methods of folklore scholarship.
EALL 294: Group Studies: Folklore in East Asia
Instructor: Mark Bender
TuTh 2:30-4:18
Call #02373-9
This course is a survey of various aspects of oral tradition and material culture in China, Korea, and Japan, with most of the emphasis on select ethnic minority groups in southwest China.
NELC 360 Sheherazade and Company: Sex, Gender and Power in Middle Eastern Storytelling
Instructor: Margaret Mills
TuTh 1:30-3:18
Call #11703-9
Oral storytelling by adults in recent practice; its depiction in Middle Eastern literature from medieval to modern; how storytellers, male and female, treat gender relations.
Students will be introduced to the general qualities of story literature, including some of the special qualities of important medieval Middle Eastern collections, and will also learn about contemporary ethnographic field research on oral storytelling: methods, concepts and analytical approaches to living oral narrative forms and performances, including theories of gender and performance as developed by folklorists. Additionally, students will examine the experience and analytic approaches of two prominent Middle Eastern women theorists, of literature and social organization respectively, on the use of narrative in contemporary everyday life.
English 367.05: US Folk Experience
Instructor: Martha Sims
TuTh 9:30-11:18
Call #08038-0
This composition course asks students to read, research and write about a variety of types of folk groups and expressions. Students will learn some basic principles of interpreting folklore and use those as critical lenses to examine narratives (written and oral), material culture, and belief practices. As one of the major writing requirements, students will research and write about a local folk group or type of folk expression of their own choosing.
Comparative Studies 470: Folklore of the Americas: Doing Oral History with Ohio Native American Indians. (Newark campus)
Instructor: Katherine Borland
MWF 2:30-3:50
Call #60056-1
This course is a hands-on experiential education opportunity for students interested in learning the techniques of oral history interviewing. We will read and discuss the theory, methods and ethics of oral history. We will also examine existing published oral histories and ethnographies relevant to our topic. During the second half of the course, students will work in teams to record the life stories of Native Americans living in Ohio. Who are they? How did they come to Ohio? What has their experience been like here? What are their concerns? There will be three or four required fieldtrips to American Indian Centers throughout the state to meet with community members and take oral histories. Students will also attend at least one Central Ohio Powwow to gain an understanding of local Native American Indian social and cultural life. This course constitutes part of OSU-Newarks ongoing American Indian Oral History Project. The oral histories that students collect will become part of the permanent archives at the Newark Earthworks Initiative.
Please Note: This course requires significant out-of-class engagement with the communities. Class Fieldtrips will generally be scheduled on Fridays or Saturdays. Please be sure that you can fulfill these out-of-class obligations before signing up for the course. Equipment is provided by the Newark Campus.
English 577.03: Cultural Circulation: the Movement of People, Goods and Ideas
Instructor: Amy Shuman
MW 1:30-3:18
Call #08069-0
From world music to the local production of cd's and cassettes, from migrant workers to tourists, to asylum seekers, from ethnic foods to the Americanization of pizza, culture travels across political and national boundaries. What restricts this travel and what promotes it? How does the circulation of culture contribute to the strengthening (in some cases) of local cultures and traditions? These are some of the questions we will examine in a study of specific examples, including African American music, Israeli, and Romany music, research on how space is used in the United States and elsewhere, and research on ethnicity and immigration, and studies of healing rituals in Puerto Rico. We will also observe the relationship between cultural circulation and politics, both in terms of ethnic and international conflict and in terms of the ownership of ideas. Requirements include written responses to readings (packet provided in online library reserve), mid term and final exams, and a term paper. No prior experience in folklore studies is required. All disciplinary perspectives are welcome.
Korean 600: Workshop in P'ansori.
Instructor: Chan Park
Russian 644: Russian Folklore
Instructor: Lyubomira Parpulova-Gribble
MW 5:00-7:18
Call #17301-7
An examination of Russian folklore from the earliest sources to the present, including proverbs, the oral epic, historical songs, folk tales, and the folk theatre. Taught in English.
Comparative Studies 677.04: Islam in South Asia
Instructor: Margaret Mills
MW 3:30-5:18
Call #19700-3
English 770.02: Intro to Graduate Studies in Folklore: Field Research/Ethnographic Methods
Instructor: Amy Shuman
TuTh 1:30 - 3:18
Call #08238-4
Methods and theory of field research and field ethics necessary for advanced study in folklore. This course provides and introduction to the ethnographic research process in folklore and related fields. Topics include the selection of the field site, the design of the project, the entry into the field community, methods of inquiry and documentation, human subjects approval, and ethical commitments. Issues of stance, dialogue, and voice will be considered throughout.
Introduction to ethnographic research design, interview and participant observation methods, ethics in human subjects research, archiving of research materials, and ethnographic writing.
English 870: The Ethnography of Communication
Instructor: Gabriella Modan
Ethnographic approaches to interaction and performance; the speech community; the communicative economy.
In addition, in Winter or Spring Dan Prior will offer History 694 - Central Asian Epic Traditions.
We urge you to look at the ethnomusicological offerings in the School of Music and the cultural policy offerings in the Department of Art Education.