Folklore Undergraduate Course Descriptions
Undergraduate
| Course | Course Description |
|---|---|
| ENGL/HIST/ANTH 2210 (BHU): Introduction to Folklore |
Folklore isn't just about ancient myths and fairy tales—it's the culture we create, share, and reinvent every day. From campus traditions and food rituals to supernatural legends and popular memes, folklore shapes how we connect with others and make sense of the world around us. In this course, we will look at the concept of folklore as emergent and dynamic and as an integral part of our daily lives, We will examine verbal, customary, and material forms of folklore, with a focus on contemporary examples and how they reflect individuals' and groups' values, concerns, and identities. By the end of this course, you will:
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| ENGL/HIST/ANTH 2210 (BHU): Introduction to Folklore Tues, Thurs 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM |
Introduction to Folklore explores basic folklore concepts and genres. We focus on supernatural legends, digital folklore, material culture, personal experience narratives, and roots music genres and their influence on contemporary music. Hybrid Logan |
| ENGL/HIST/ANTH 2720: Survey of American Folklore Mon, Wed, Fri 12:30 PM - 1:20 PM |
This is a survey of traditional and modern folklore in the US from a wide variety of regions and groups. Genres and topics to be covered include tall tales from Florida, folk songs, monsters, disaster stories and memes. We will spend a significant amount of time discussing legends, including legends that circulate in African American communities, legends about disease, and the practice of legend tripping. Hybrid Logan |
| ENGL/HIST/ANTH/RELS 3710 (CI): Topics in Folklore: Folklore of the Middle East |
This course orients students to the folklore and folkloric practices of the Middle East. Material to be examined will be diverse across genres and drawn from various ethnic, national, and temporal spheres. Folklore is not necessarily ancient and historical, and there will be an emphasis on Middle Eastern contemporary life. In this course, folklore is conceptualized as everyday life expressive culture, including verbal arts, texts, performative activities, and material culture. Though this is not a theory course, students will gain an attenuated background in folklore studies that includes the history and development of the discipline, its various methods, and contemporary scholarly conversations. Online |
| ENGL/ANTH/HIST 5700: Folk Narrative: Magic and Monsters Tues, Thurs 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM |
We will explore magic tales and folk narratives in the context of actual historical folk magic practices—including crystal ball reading, love magic, and spells for health, small fortunes, the weather, buried treasure, and general anti-witch measures. This is a "Community" course within the English major. Along the way, perhaps on a lonely road at night, we'll encounter some fearsome Irish fairy folk—aka the Good People—and we will explore historical protective and counter folk magic (get ready to turn your clothes inside out). We will track legendary monsters in their native and folkloric habitats—including the Bear Lake Monster, the Chupacabra, the Mothman, Slenderman, Yeahohs, the Donkey Lady, the Windigo, Sasquatch, the Jersey Devil, and Sharlie. Online |
Graduate
| Course | Course Description |
|---|---|
| ENGL/HIST 6700: Introduction to Folklore Studies Wed 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM |
This graduate seminar introduces students to the field of folklore studies, offering both a broad survey of key genres (narrative, material culture, belief, ritual, and more) and an in-depth examination of the field's intellectual history, major debates, and contemporary theoretical frameworks. Beyond theory, we'll explore the applied dimensions of folklore—how it intersects with disciplines like history, anthropology, and literature, among others. We'll also discuss folklore's role in public scholarship, advocacy, and education. The course is designed to be useful for graduate students across the humanities and social sciences—anyone interested in the role of expressive culture in meaning-making, identity formation, and social change. Students will engage in professional development activities such as writing within the conventions of folklore studies, preparing conference abstracts, and crafting publishable book reviews. The final project will allow students to conduct original folkloristic research on a topic of their choice, bridging folklore with their own disciplinary interests. In Person Logan |
| ENGL/HIST 6710: Folklore, Landscape, and Place Mon 4:30 PM - 7:00 PM |
People use folklore to create landscapes and places through story, song, language, and material culture. Landscapes and places also affect people, as they evoke meanings, memories, and values in what anthropologist Keith Basso calls the "interanimation" between people and place. We will explore this interanimation through a variety of readings and topics--indigenous perspectives, insider/outsider perspectives (tourism), legends and legend-tripping, contested places, supernatural places, and the general overlap of landscape and language. We will also consider landscapes as types of performances as well as the role of non-human agents. In addition to leading seminar discussions and completing shorter writing assignments, students will write a conference paper on a related topic of their choice. Field trips possible! In Person Logan |