Folklore and Mythology 98a Fall term 2007Oral Literature and the History of FolkloristicsMeetings: Mondays 2-4 in the Folklore Library (Warren House)Joseph Harris, Barker Center 221, English Dept.; (617) 495-9567; <harris@fas>Office hours: Mon. and Wed., 11-12, in Barker 221 or by appointment

This course aims to supply Folklore and Mythology concentrators with some of the elements necessary for an historical understanding of their discipline, leading up to the recent consensus around the study of oral literature. I hope to make it a real seminar in which attendance, participation, and preparation are primary requirements and discussion, debate, exchange of views constitute the main ingredient of our meetings. Each student will (1) write five response papers on an outside reading assignment (that is one every other week in the central portion of the course) and report on that material; there will be (2) a midterm take-home exam and (3) a substantial final paper and presentation based on it.

The following outline syllabus (still tentative) will be supplemented by fuller weekly assignments:

17 Sept. a future for folkloristics?24 Sept. proto-folkloristics: some 18th- and 19th-century

landmarks (with special reference to Harvard)

1 Oct. folklore and nation (with special reference to Herder) [8 Oct. holiday]15 Oct. the later 19th century (with emphasis on evolution)22 Oct. the myth-ritual theory, then and now29 Oct. historical-geographic method (and related) 5 Nov. some formalisms12 Nov. structuralism and narratology19 Nov. the oral-formulaic theory26 Nov. performance school (and related) 3 Dec. ethnopoetics, ethnography of speaking (and related)10 Dec. psychology, gender, and race in oral literature[17 Dec. This meeting will be postponed to a date in Reading Period,

2-13 January, to be determined. That final session will be the proving grounds for your term papers.]

13 Jan. final papers due by 5 PM

Reading: I have tried to limit the common reading for each week to 100-200 pages. In addition, there is the reading, usually an article or a chapter of a book, for the response papers and reports. Some of the outside reading will have to come from books on reserve.

Books on order at the Coop:Bauman, Richard. Story, Performance, and EventBauman, Richard. Verbal Art as PerformanceBronner, Simon J. Folk NationDundes, Alan. Sacred NarrativeDundes, Alan. International FolkloristicsFeldman, Burton and R. Richardson. The Rise of Modern MythologyGeorges, Robert A. and Michael Owen Jones. FolkloristicsOring, Elliott. Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: A ReaderPropp, Vladimir. Morphology of the FolktaleSegal, Robert A. In Quest of the HeroTedlock, Dennis. The Spoken Word and the Work of InterpretationZumwalt, Rosemary. American Folklore Scholarship

Available at cost (c. $5) from Holly in the Folklore office is this title:100 Years of American Folklore Studies, ed. William M. ClementsAvailable free on the web or at cost from Holly is this title:David Bynum. Four Generations of Oral Literary Studies at Harvard (http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~mpc/oralhistory.html) or at cost from Holly