Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

• FOLK-E 522 The Study of Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Introduction to the discipline: history, scope, definitions of ethnomusicology; key issues, points of debate; ethnomusicologists and their work; resources for research, teaching, and other activities in which ethnomusicologists engage. Background for more specialized courses in fieldwork, theory, intellectual history, and world areas. Credit given for only one of FOLK E522 or F522.

• FOLK-E 529 Musical Cultures as Systems of Meaning (3 cr.) This course explores a range of ideologies, processes, and patterns that define musical cultures across the globe. Focus on the con­cept of music as culture by examining historical and contempo­rary issues in cross-cultural perspective.

• FOLK-E 533 Applied Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Investigates histories and trajectories of applied ethnomusicology, while preparing students to conceptualize and develop their own work in the sub-field. Will map definitions of applied, advocacy, activist, engaged, and public sector work and trace connections to other disciplines. Discussions focus on research approaches, tools, and methodologies within applied ethnomusicology circles.

• FOLK-E 536 Applied Ethnomusicology and Folklore: Media Produc­tions (3 cr.) Examines the application of ethnomusicology and folklore training in media productions for cultural institutions and commercial industries. A focus on the role of humanists as researchers, consultants, music supervisors, and filmmakers for public media institutions (i.e. PBS, BBC, NPR, PRI), multimedia production companies, and commercial film industries.

• FOLK-E 601 Chinese Film and Music (3 cr.) Introduces students to Chinese film, music, and film and music industries. Focus on ethnomusicological approaches to the study of film, methods for reading film music, and learning to read Chinese films and listen to their soundtracks in relation to their representations of Chinese culture.

• FOLK-E 607 Music in African Life (3 cr.) Study of how Africans cre­ate, perform, think about, and use music in their lives. Topics include traditional and popular musical styles in relationship to social and historical contexts, as well as translocal, transnation­al, and global cultural and musical exchanges in which Africans participate. Credit given for only FOLK E607 or F607.

• FOLK-E 608 Music in African Film (3 cr.) Music is an integral part of African films, whether they are made by Hollywood or by Afri­can directors. The course will explore how various film musics are conceived and how these musics may be interpreted by audiences, composers, and filmmakers. Credit given for only FOLK E608 or F608.

• FOLK-E 609 Zimbabwean Mbira Performance Ensemble (3 cr.) This course introduces students to Zimbabwean music through a combination of applied music making and lecture/discussions. Students learn to play the Zimbabwean Mbira and various percussion instruments.

• FOLK-E 639 Music & Nationalism in Latin America (3 cr.) Explores re­lationships between changing concepts of nation and national identity, local, social, and political processes, and artists whose performances and creations have been seen as national sym­bols. Theories of nationalism, explored through case studies from various periods and nations of Latin America.

• FOLK-E 688 Motown (3 cr.) This course surveys the development of Motown Record Corporation, Detroit Era (1959-1972). Through lecture, discussion, guided listening and visual experiences the course studies the musical works, creative processes, business practices, historical events, media, technology, and sociocul­tural factors that contributed to Motown’s identity as a unique artistic and cultural phenomenon.

• FOLK-E 694 Issues in African American Music (3 cr.) A chronological overview of the primary genres of African American music, from slavery to present. Emphasis placed on understanding the separate identities of individual genres, and examining those processes by which they are interrelated and are cultural objects for ap­propriation. Credit given for only one of FOLK E694, FOLK F694, or AAAD A594.

• FOLK-E 697 African American Popular Music (3 cr.) An examination of African American popular music from 1945-2000. Orga­nized topically, this course will examine the production of this tradition as a black cultural product and its transformation into a mass marketed commodity for mainstream and global consumption. Credit given for only one of FOLK E697 or AAAD A687.

• FOLK-E 698 African American Religious Music (3 cr.) Using both a sociocultural and a historical perspective, this course explores the major forms of African American religious music indigenous to the United States (Negro spirituals and gospel music), as well as those Euro-American musical expressions that have emerged as integral parts of the African American worship experience.

• FOLK-E 699 Theoretical Perspectives in African American Music (3 cr.) A critique of the theoretical perspectives of African Ameri­can music rendered in seminal publications by scholars of vari­ous disciplines employed from the 19th century to the present that have shaped underlying assumptions in narratives on this tradition. Credit given for only one of FOLK E699 or FOLK F725.

• FOLK-E 714 Paradigms of Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Examines the cur­rent paradigms for conducting ethnomusicological research. Emphasis on theoretical frameworks and specific examples of application within the disciplines. Credit given for only FOLK F714 or E714.

• FOLK-F 501 Colloquy in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Introduces students to the content, methodologies, and theoretical per­spectives, and intellectual histories of folklore and ethnomusi­cology.

• FOLK-F 510 Multimedia in Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Explores the use of multimedia technology in five basic areas of ethnographic activity: field research, laboratory research (transcription and analysis), preservation, presentation, and publication. Knowl­edge of technological concepts and skill development in the use of various technologies are pursued through a project-based approach, which emphasizes learning by doing.

• FOLK-F 512 Survey of Folklore (3 cr.) A survey of selected folklore genres in the verbal, material, musical, kinetic, and conceptual domains, with discussion of significant insights that have arisen, as well as persisting problems that remain, in the focus on genre.  

• FOLK-F 516 Folklore Theory in Practice (3 cr.) An introduction to scholarly practice, developing an integrated idea of folklore as a topic of study and as a way to conduct research.

• FOLK-F 517 History of Folklore Study (3 cr.) Graduate introduction to conceptual foundations in folklore, such as social base of folklore, tradition, folklore and culture history, folklore as pro­jection, genre, function, structure, text, and context, through a historical survey of approaches to folklore topics.

• FOLK-F 523 Field Work in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Theories and methods of conducting field research, including research design, methods of data gathering, research ethics, and presen­tation of research results.

• FOLK-F 525 Readings in Ethnography (3 cr.) Historical survey of main styles of ethnographic research, with emphasis on three types of theoretical considerations: 1) relationship between ethno­graphic research and the changing academic, political, cultural, and artistic contexts in which it is situated; 2) ethnographers as individuals whose specific backgrounds and aspirations influence their work; and 3) close attention to the methods employed by specific ethnographers.

• FOLK-F 527 Folk Poetry and Folksong (3 cr.) Examination of written and performed folk poetry, ritual, political, domestic, or oc­cupational verse, blues, or popular song; scholarly perspectives associated with these forms. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 528 Advanced Fieldwork (3 cr.) P: F523. While F523 offers a compre­hensive survey of the complex and multi-faceted enterprise, this course (F528) chooses one element of the fieldwork and focuses on it as a theme for an entire semester. This course also offers advanced graduate students additional guided experi­ence conducting fieldwork in a workshop-like setting.

• FOLK-F 532 Public Practice in Folklore and Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Explores the breadth of professional practice in Folklore and Ethnomusicology outside of college and university settings. Emphasis is placed on the development of conceptual knowl­edge central to publicly engaged scholarship irrespective of the particular contexts in which scholars might be employed.

• FOLK-F 533 Applied Folklore (3 cr.) Prepares students to work as mediators between vernacular and institutional discourses and agendas; apply folkloristic skills to social problems solving; trace the history of applied folklore; provide training in cultural mediation, rapid ethnography, needs analysis, other applied skills; survey work of folklorists in important applied areas including law, medicine, education.

• FOLK-F 535 Ritual and Festival (3 cr.) Traditional rituals and festivals include symbolic forms of communication and a range of per­formance units: drama, religious expression, music, sports, the clown. Interpretive models permit cross-cultural examination of these phenomena in the United States, Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia, etc., though study focuses only on a few events in context.

• FOLK-F 536 Ethnography of Belief (3 cr.) Explores approaches to the ethnography of systems of supernatural belief and will look closely at the resulting descriptions. Belief systems will be considered in terms of their descriptive methodologies, internal logic and methods of acquiring and evaluating evidence, and their means of transmitting explanations.

• FOLK-F 540 Material Culture and Folklife (3 cr.) Material culture pre­sented within the context of folklife, including folk architecture, folk crafts, folk art, traditional foodways, folk museums, folklife research methods, and the history of folklife research. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 545 Folk Narrative (3 cr.) Examination of myths, folktales, legends, jokes, fables, anecdotes, personal narratives, or other forms of folk narrative. Attention given to the content, form, and functions of the narratives as well as the variety of theories and methodologies employed in their study. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 546 Personal Experience Narrative (3 cr.) Examines the form, structure, context, performance and nature of the personal experience narrative and related genres such as life history, memorate and autobiography. Particular attention will be placed on issues of tellability, narrative entitlement and textual analysis.

• FOLK-F 600 Asian Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) Folk religion, material culture, social customs, oral literature, and folk music of Asian societies. Relationship between political movements and the use of folklore scholarship. Transformations of traditions in modern contexts. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 609 African and Afro-American Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) Folklore, oral prose and poetry, and music of African societies from the precolonial to the modern national period. The per­petuation of African traditions and the creation of new folklore forms among Afro-Americans in the United States. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 617 Middle East Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) Intensive compar­ative studies of selected genres, including epics, oral narratives, folk drama, ritual and festival, riddles, proverbs, and folk music. Emphasis on analyses of genres in their social and cultural con­texts. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 625 North American Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) Folk and popular traditions of the United States and Canada. Topics include the social base of American folklore, analytical frame­works for the study of American folklore, prominent genres of American folklore and folk music, national or regional charac­ter, and American folk style. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 634 Jewish Folklore and Ethnology (3 cr.) Introduces the history, methods, and issues of ethnographic study among Jewish populations, focusing on the United States and Israel. Through close readings of major works, this class will explore how research in this complex topic has used ethnography to investigate—and negotiate—memory, religious life, politics, ethnicity, and identity.

• FOLK-F 635 European Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) Forms of folklore and folk music in Europe; historical and contemporary Euro­pean scholarship in folklore and ethnomusicology. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 638 Latin American Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) In-depth treat­ment of traditional expressive forms (musical, verbal, kinetic, festive, etc.) in the various populations of Latin America, with emphasis on the historical evolution of these forms and their contribution to the articulation of contemporary Latin Ameri­can identities. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 640 Native American Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) Compara­tive examination of various verbal, musical, and dance forms of Native American societies in North and South America. Examination of contributions of folklore and ethnomusicologi­cal scholarship to Native American studies. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 651 Pacific Folklore/Folk Music (3 cr.) Folklore, folklife, music, and dance of Australia, New Zealand, and native Oceanic societies. Topics include the cultures of aboriginal and settler populations, retention and adaptation of European traditions, perpetuation and adaptation of aboriginal materials, and the emergence of “native” traditions among the settler and immi­grant groups. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
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• FOLK-F 677 Popular Culture and Politics in the Middle East (3 cr.) Through ethnographic case studies this course examines the dynamics of popular culture and mass media in the Middle East, including the Arabic speaking nations, Israel, Turkey, Iran, and North Africa.

• FOLK-F 712 Body Art: Dress and Adornment (3 cr.) This seminar analyzes the different ways in which human beings through­out the world shape, dress, ornament, and decorate their bodies, focusing on the meaningful communication of these artistic forms. Class topics will include tattoo, scarification, face painting, makeup, henna, hair, jewelry, and dress—daily attire, costume, folk dress, uniforms.

• FOLK-F 713 Food: Art and Identity (3 cr.) This seminar centers on the topic of food—the production, preparation, and consumption—applying a material culture model to the study of food. While food is an expression of cultural identities, it is also a powerful vehicle for the expression of individual identities, preferences, and aesthetics.

• FOLK-F 715 (ENG L715) English and Scottish Popular Ballads (4 cr.) Students’ investigation of principal problems met in ballad scholarship. Special attention to textual relationships, dissemi­nation, and unique qualities of genre.

• FOLK-F 722 Colloquium in Theoretical Folklore/Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Intensive examination of social scientific theories and an assessment of their relevance to folklore/ethnomusicology scholarship. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 730 Museums and Material Culture (3 cr.) This class analyzes the complex relationship between human beings and the material world they inhabit and create to better comprehend the institution of the museum. An understanding of material culture helps us view how makers, users, and viewers relate to objects in homes, commercial establishments and eventually, in museums.

• FOLK-F 731 Curatorship (3 cr.) The course presents basic skills for research and professional practice in social science and humanities museums. In addition to curatorial skills, the course explores how theoretical, ethical, and methodological problems are addressed in day-to-day museum work. Taught in campus museums, the course includes hands-on activities, seminar discussion, and collections research.

• FOLK-F 734 Folklore and Literature (3 cr.) The study of folklore forms and themes as they articulate with literary forms. Emphasis on understanding folklore concepts and theories for literary interpretation, and on the problems posed by literature that contribute to the interpretation of folklore. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 736 Folklore and Language (3 cr.) Linguistic or linguistically informed approaches to speech play and verbal art that are especially relevant to the concerns of folklorists. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 738 Psychological Issues in Folklore (3 cr.) P: Consent of instructor. Major areas addressed: psychological principles in early folklore scholarship; principles of learning applied to traditions; social learning; attitudes: performance and reten­tion; systemic qualities; cybernetics: “material” and “kinetic” culture; folkloric behavior in mental health and morbidity; unrecognized ties to psychological theories; uses of folklore to educators and psychologists.

• FOLK-F 740 History of Ideas in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Examination of the intellectual history of folklore and ethnomu­sicology, emphasizing the social, political, and ideological forces that have influenced the development of the field. Required for M.A. and Ph.D. students. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 750 Performance Studies (3 cr.) Examination of performance-centered theory and analysis in folklore, ethnomusicology, and adjacent fields. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 755 Folklore, Culture, and Society (3 cr.) Relationship of folklore, culture, and social organization. Beliefs, values, and social relations in the folklore of various societies. Special top­ics include gender, children, and ethnicity. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 792 Traditional Musical Instruments (3 cr.) Classification, distribution, and diffusion of folk and traditional musical instru­ments. Construction and performance practices. Relation to cultural and physical environment. Demonstration with instru­ments in the collection of the university museum.

• FOLK-F 794 Transcription and Analysis in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) P: Consent of instructor. Problems in transcription, analy­sis, and classification of music sound and texts. Required of M.A. and Ph.D. students in ethnomusicology. May be repeated for credit.

Special Function Courses

• FOLK-OS 500 Undistributed Overseas Study (arr. cr.)

• FOLK-G 599 Thesis Research (arr. cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.

• FOLK-F 800 Research in Folklore (arr.-9 cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.

• FOLK-F 801 Teaching Folklore (0-3 cr.) Prepares graduate students to teach in Folklore and Ethnomusicology; includes practical instruction in teaching methods, lesson preparation, teaching observations, course design, teaching portfolio preparation, and discussion of folklore and ethnomusicology in college curriculum. Required of all first time Instructors and Associate Instructors.

• FOLK-F 802 Traditional Arts Indiana (1-3 cr.) Designed as a practicum for students to work collaboratively in applying the methods and approaches of folklore studies to public needs and public programs. Students will engage in a variety of outreach projects linking the university to the larger community in the areas of public arts and culture and cultural documentation. May be repeated once for credit.

• FOLK-F 803 Practicum in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (1-6 cr.) P: Consent of instructor. Individualized, supervised work in publicly oriented programs in folklore or ethnomusicology, such as public arts agencies, museums, historical commissions, and archives. Relevant readings and written report required. May be repeated.

• FOLK-F 804 Special Topics in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (3-6 cr.) Top­ics will be selected in areas of folklore or ethnomusicology not covered in depth in existing courses. May be repeated for credit (6 cr. max.) when topics vary.

• FOLK-F 805 Laboratory in Public Folklore (3 cr.) Covers the research, design, creation, presentation, and assessment of public folklore projects. The learning laboratory provides students with experience in the public sector and critical perspectives on the theories, methods, and models employed in this field. The course includes weekly meetings to review readings and resources and discuss project progress.

• FOLK-F 806 Museum Practicum in Folklore (1-6 cr.) Folklore-oriented practicum at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures or another museum. Relevant readings, participation, and a capstone event are required. May be repeated for up to 6 credit hours.

• FOLK-F 840 Research Seminar (3 cr.) Prepares students for their dissertation research by examining the research process and requiring from them a short draft and an expanded draft of a research proposal. This course is strongly recommended for students in the Ph.D. program. May be repeated once for credit.

• FOLK-F 850 Thesis (arr. cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.

• FOLK-G 901 Advanced Research (6 cr.) This course is eligible for a deferred grade.

Music Courses

• FOLK-M 596 Art Music of Black Composers (3 cr.)

• FOLK-T 561 Music Theory (3 cr.) (Topic: Art Musics of Asia; Art Music of India)