Graduate Faculty
Special Requirements
Master of Arts Degree
Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Courses
Chairperson
Professor John H. McDowell
Graduate Faculty
College Professor
Henry Glassie
Distinguished Professors
Richard Bauman, Linda Dégh (Emerita)
Professors
Ilhan Basgöz (Emeritus, Central Eurasian Studies), Mary Ellen Brown, Sandra K. Dolby, Hasan El-Shamy, William Hansen (Classical Studies), Roger L. Janelli, Portia Maultsby, John H. McDowell, Ruth M. Stone, William Wiggins Jr. (Afro-American Studies)
Associate Professors
Mellonee Burnim, Gloria Gibson, John W. Johnson, Gregory Schrempp,* Beverly J. Stoeltje
Assistant Professor
Sue Tuohy*
Adjunct Professors
John Bodnar (History), James Gordon Brotherston (Spanish and Portuguese), Raymond DeMallie (Anthropology), Anya Peterson Royce (Anthropology)
Adjunct Associate Professor
Stephanie C. Kane (Criminal Justice)
Director of Graduate Studies
Associate Professor Gregory Schrempp,* 504 N. Fess Avenue, (812) 855-0389
Degrees Offered
Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy
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Special Requirements
See also general University Graduate School requirements.
Admission Requirements
A good undergraduate record in any of the humanities or social sciences will be acceptable for admission to graduate study in folklore. Graduate Record Examination General Test scores are required (recommended but not required for international students whose first language is not English). Students may be admitted to graduate study in folklore, concentrating in either folklore or ethnomusicology, in one of three categories: (1) M.A. (2) Ph.D. or (3) M.A./Ph.D.
Grades
Folklore will accept no course for credit toward a degree in which the grade is lower than a B - (2.7). All students must earn a B (3.0) or better in the required folklore courses and maintain a grade point average of at least 3.2.
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Master of Arts Degree
Course Requirements
A minimum of 30 credit hours, including F501, F516, F517, F523, and F740. Three additional courses in folklore, including at least one course in each of the following categories: Folklore Forms (F526-599) listings; Area Courses (F600-699) listings; Theory Courses (F700-799) listings. Students pursuing the ethnomusicolgy concentration also must take F714 and F794.
Foreign Language Requirement
Reading proficiency in one modern foreign language. Must be completed before M.A. project/thesis is submitted.
Project/Thesis
Students may earn up to 6 credit hours for an M.A. project/thesis. A comprehensive oral examination is given when the project/thesis is submitted.
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Doctor of Philosophy Degree
Admission Requirement
M.A. degree (may comprise 30 of the 90 required credits).
Course Requirements
A total of 90 credit hours, 36 of which are specific folklore courses including F501, F516, F517, F523, and two sections of F740 History of Ideas in Folklore/Ethnomusicology, six additional folklore courses, and a dissertation.
Fields of Study
The Department of Folklore offers training in a number of subfields of folklore, including oral narrative, song, material culture, ritual, festival, worldview, and ethnomusicology. The department is committed to the study of expressive forms—traditional, contemporary, vernacular, and popular—within an integrative academic program. Students and faculty conduct research in a range of world areas, using diverse research methods—historical, archival, field, and laboratory. Students prepare for careers in a variety of academic and public settings.
Minors
At least one minor required; a second minor is optional. Students opting for the Ph.D. program with a double major may count the area outside of folklore as the equivalent of two minors if approved by the Department of Folklore.
Foreign Language Requirement
Reading proficiency in two modern foreign languages. Must be completed before qualifying examination is taken.
Qualifying Examinations
Written examination in theory and history, genre and forms, and area specialties followed by oral examination.
Research Proposal
Must be approved by the research committee, a majority of whose members must be faculty of Folklore.
Final Examination
Defense of the dissertation.
Ph.D. Concentration in Ethnomusicology
The Ethnomusicology Program, in conjunction with the Department of Folklore, offers a concentration in ethnomusicology. In addition to the required folklore courses, students are required to take the following ethnomusicology courses: F523, F714, F740, and F794, plus two world music area courses.
Ph.D. Minor in Ethnomusicology
See section under “Ethnomusicology,” described elsewhere in this bulletin.
Ph.D. Minor in Folklore
Doctoral students in other departments may obtain a minor in folklore by completing 12 credit hours (four graduate folklore courses). Three (3) credit hours must be in one of the required courses: F516, F517, or F523. Contact the graduate advisor for approval of courses.
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Courses
Basic Required Courses in Theory and Method
F501 Folklore Colloquy (3 cr.) Acquaints the student with a variety of folkloristic topics, approaches, and methods through presentations of current research by invited members of our faculty. Each presentation is previewed by assigned readings and followed by further discussion of issues arising from the readings and presentations.
F516 Proseminar in Folklore Theory and Method I: Materials of Folklore (3 cr.) Graduate survey of the forms of folkloric expression: oral, material, customary, musical, kinetic.
F517 Proseminar in Folklore Theory and Method II: Basic Concepts in Folklore (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.
F523 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.
Folklore Forms
F527 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.
F535 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.
F540 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.
F545 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 change.
Area Courses
F600 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.
F609 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.
F617 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.
F625 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.
F635 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.
F638 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.
F640 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.
F651 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.
Theory Courses
F714 Paradigms of Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Examination of current paradigms for study of ethnomusicological problems. Emphasis on theoretical frameworks and specific examples of application. Required of Ph.D. students in ethnomusicology. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
F715 (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.
F722 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.
F731 Archiving Principles and Bibliography in Folklore and Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) History, methods, and principles of field collections and documentation, storage and preservation, cataloging and classification, bibliography, and ethical concerns. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
F734 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.
F736 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.
F738 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.
F740 History of Ideas in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (3 cr.) Examination of the intellectual history of folklore and ethnomusicology, emphasizing the social, political, and ideological forces which have influenced the development of the field. Required for M.A. and Ph.D. students. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.
F750 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.
F755 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.
F792 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.
F794 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
F800 Research in Folklore (cr. arr., maximum 9 hrs.)*
F801 Teaching Folklore (0-3 cr.) A consideration of the philosophical, cultural, and practical issues attached to the teaching of folklore. May be repeated once.
F803 Practicum in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (1-3 cr., 6 cr. max.) 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.
F804 Special Topics in Folklore/Ethnomusicology (1-3 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.
F840 Research Seminar (3 cr.) Prepares students for their dissertation research by examining the dissertation process and requiring from them a short draft and an expanded draft of the thesis proposal. This course is strongly recommended for Ph.D. candidates.
F850 Thesis (cr. arr.)*
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