Essay Assignments and Fieldwork Project
Spring, 2002
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Essay # 1
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Friday, April 5 |
Discuss assignment in class. |
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Friday, April 5 through Monday, April 22 |
Work on essay outside of class. |
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Monday, April 22 |
Essay #1 Due. |
Essay #1 should be a response to, comment on, or analysis of one of the three assigned readings available via E-Reserve. The essay should be two pages in length (no longer) and double spaced, using appropriate MLA format for a student essay and, if it includes quoted material, correct MLA format for quoting and citing sources (find links below to pages with information that will help you meet these requirements). The two-page limit to the length, however, means quotations should be short and few, if any. Unless quotations refer to sources other than the course texts and/or the focus article, a "Works Cited" page is not required.
The page limitation also means that you will most likely not be able to respond to or comment on the reading in its entirety. In developing your thesis, you should focus on one of the underlying theories about folklore or issues discussed in the article and explore your ideas about the theory, explain the theory, and/or discuss your understanding of the theory. You should then use examples of folklore drawing from your own experience, class discussion, the readings, and/or the films (or other sources) to illustrate the theory "in action" and to support your analysis and discussion. Please note that your essay should not be a summary of the article's contents.
The following are some ideas that might get you started:
Toelken, "Describing Folklore" and "Mode and Movement in Folklore": What is meant by the twin laws of dynamism and conservatism? Why are performance and context important in determining whether something is traditional and/or folklore? Why does trying to define folklore sometimes pose some difficulties?
Dundes, "The Devolutionary Premise in Folklore Theory": Comment on the idea that "as all the peoples of the world achieve civilized status, there will be less and less folklore left until one day it will disappear all together." Is a change of detail in folklore performance (retelling a tale, for example, or singing a folksong) "equivalent to deterioration"? Is the "universe of folklore running down"?
Jansen, "The Esoteric-Exoteric Factor in Folklore": How does an understanding of the esoteric-exoteric factor in folklore help us understand inter- and intra-group dynamics (or, how might it help prevent that understanding)? Would you agree that folklore tends to validate culture--to justify ways of looking at life and, in some instances, to support the contention that one group is more virtuous, virile, intelligent, or worthy than another? How can folklore help cement group identity (and, is that factor necessarily a positive one)?
Students should use the following pages while writing, revising, and preparing their essays.
Essay #2
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Friday, April 5 |
Discuss assignment in class. |
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Throughout Term |
Select video that will be the focus of the essay (more information included below). |
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After Video Showing in Class |
Re-view video, if desired, and write essay |
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One Week From Video Showing |
Essay #2 Due--Note Exceptions at the end of the term, below. |
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For a complete list of videos, show dates in class, availability for re-viewing, and Essay #2 due dates, use this link. |
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Essay #2 will be a response to one of the films or videos viewed in class. The essay should be two pages in length (no longer) and double spaced, using appropriate MLA format for a student essay and, if it includes quoted material, correct MLA format for quoting and citing sources (see links below for where to find information to help you meet these requirements). The two-page limit to the length, however, means quotations should be short and few, if any. Unless quotations refer to sources other than the film and/or the course texts, a "Works Cited" page is not required.
The essay should not be merely a summary of the film, but a discussion or analysis of the folkloric content and/or a response to that content. If you were responding to the film Clotheslines, for example, you might discuss why the women in the film comprise a folk group, or why a method of hanging out laundry might be considered folklore, or how the comments of the women in the film illustrate the esoteric-exoteric factor at work. You may also include in your essay your evaluation of the effectiveness of the film (in terms of its folkloric content, its aesthetics, or how you reacted to it, for example), but this evaluation should not be the major focus of your essay. A thesis statement about the folkloric content of the particular film would be a good starting point for the essay.
Students will select the film they want to review individually. Due dates will be determined by which film is selected, as this essay will be due within 1 week of the time the film is shown in class. Please note, however, that the final due date for Essay #2 is Wednesday, June 5. That means that students who select Spirits in the Wood will have less than one week to prepare the essay, and those who select Yum, Yum, Yum would have to view it on their own in the Knight Library prior to its being shown in class.
Most of the videos may be viewed again in the Reserve Room of the Knight Library or in the Folklore Archives. The location is indicated on the linked page giving the due dates. In addition, Documenting Ourselves: Film, Video, and Culture, by Professor Sharon Sherman, has been placed on reserve as a reference; this book provides a history, analysis, and discussion of folklore film.
As for Essay #1, students should use the following pages while writing, revising, and preparing Essay #2.
Fieldwork Project
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Friday, April 5 |
Discuss assignment in class. |
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Friday, April 19 |
Last day to submit idea for fieldwork collection and fieldwork plan. (You may submit this information as soon as you decide what your project will focus on, which will mean that you can then also begin your fieldwork earlier.) |
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Monday, April 22-Friday, May 10 (approximate dates) |
Conduct fieldwork. |
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Friday, May 10-Friday, May 24 (approximate dates) |
Prepare fieldwork notes for archiving and write essay |
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Friday, May 24 |
Fieldwork Project Due |
Overview
For the fieldwork project, each student will complete a folklore "collection" following the guidelines and format of the Mills Folklore Archives. What type of folklore students decide to collect will determine the length of the project. In addition to the "lore" (usually included on "text" pages--see below), the project should include an introductory essay (suggested length 4-6 pages) and transcripts of any tapes or videos made.
Whether or not a project becomes part of the Mills Archives collection is based on the project's topic, not the grade. The archivists and instructor determine which projects will become part of the Archives "based on current holdings and the quality of each project" (Mills Archive).
Since your project, if it is accessioned, will not be returned to you, you should be sure to keep a copy if you wish one for yourself. In addition, since any project accessioned by the Archives must be in "clean" condition, if you would like instructor comments on and responses to your project's essay (and the project in general), you should turn in a duplicate copy of the essay for comments.
The top two or three projects in this class will also be nominated for this year's undergraduate folklore fieldwork award. This award goes to the best fieldwork project completed by an undergraduate student in a folklore class during the academic year. The award is more than honorary, as it is accompanied by a monetary prize.
Prior to beginning your fieldwork project, you should submit a brief statement that indicates what your project will focus on and what your plan is for conducting your fieldwork. You should include at this stage of the project a list of who your informants will be (unless, of course, you will be collecting folklore that can only be obtained through observation, such as graffiti). Checking to see what types of similar materials are already available in the Mills Folklore Archives and how your project will help expand those materials or how it will differ from them and including this information will also help you put your own project into focus.
Fieldwork Project 
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General Guidelines
(from a handout prepared by the Randall V. Mills Archives of
Northwest Folklore)
Fieldwork Project
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Fieldwork Guidelines
(The following is excerpted from A Brief Guide to Folklore Collecting, by Suzi Jones)
Your success as a collector will be largely dependent on two factors: (1) your ability to recognize folklore in all its manifold appearances; and (2) your appreciation of the "folk"--your desire to establish an honest rapport and a willing reciprocation with the people whose lore you wish to record. Your eagerness to fill your notebook with superstitions or your tape with ballads should never come before your consideration and courtesy for the people you are collecting from.
Where To Go
Folklore can be collected almost anywhere. It is going on around you all the time, and if you develop an awareness of what folklore is and how it operates you should have no problem in finding it. It is scribbled on the restroom walls at local taverns and on the desks in classrooms; it is in the songs you sing at keggers or the rhymes your little sister says as she jumps rope; it is in the patterns of your grandmother's quilts and in the advice she gives you to get rid of warts and colds and constipation; it is in the stories your uncle tells about how "it used to be in the good old days" and in the songs your mother used to sing to put you to sleep; it is in the jokes and ghost stories you tell at parties or around campfires; it is in the special foods you eat on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other holidays; it is in all the precautions you take during finals week; it is in knowing just when and where and how to catch a fish. All you have to do is look and listen.
Although you can collect folklore from almost any group that interests you, chances are you will have better luck in your own backyard, collecting from your family, friends, or any group that you happen to be a member of. This gives you the advantage of being an "insider" and of understanding the context and meaning of the folklore in a way that is unavailable to any "outsider." Also, it means that the problem of establishing rapport with your informants is at a minimum since you are already acquainted with them on a friendly basis.
What To Do
Define your problem: Decide what type of lore you want to collect and where you must go to collect it. Be realistic in fitting the time needed to make such a collection to the time you will actually have for collecting. If you are planning to collect a single genre such as superstitions or home remedies, read up on them beforehand. [Added note: A good place to start is in the Mills Folklore Archives.] This will be helpful to you in two ways: (1) if you are familiar with the variety of lore you are looking for, then you will have a better chance of recognizing it when you hear it; and (2) it may help you in eliciting responses from your informants. For example, if you know which ailments people usually have remedies for, you can ask some rather specific and direct questions ("Do you know a cure for warts?") that will be more likely to elicit responses than the broad and general questions such as "Do you know any folk medicine?"
Recording the lore: Decide beforehand the best way to record the lore you will collect. If you decide to use a tape recorder, practice using it ahead of time. Become so familiar with it that you can use it inconspicuously and with ease. Using a tape recorder introduces an artificial element into the situation, so you must be as casual and as diplomatic as you can to keep your informants from "freezing up." [. . .] If you are collecting material culture--costume, barn designs, quilt patterns, and so forth--you may find a camera will be the easiest and best way to capture what you want.
Establishing rapport: Most important of all, establish rapport with your informants. Let them know that you are interested in them and that you value the information they can give you. You may get blank stares or offended looks if you bluntly ask someone: "Do you know any folklore?" [. . .] Remember, most people do not understand "folklore" in the same way you do. Express your personal interest in what you are collecting (if you are not honestly interested in it, then you probably shouldn't be collecting it). If you are collecting folksongs and can sing some yourself you may find that singing some you know will be helpful in encouraging your informant to sing for you. Also, try to keep the context as natural as possible and to collect the folklore in the setting it usually occurs in.
What To Bring Back
The TEXT--record the text of your material accurately, exactly as it was presented to you. Don't clean it up or change any bad grammar.
The TEXTURE--in addition to the words themselves, record gestures and tone of voice. Try to describe the informant's style. Was he animated, deadpan, pulling your leg? Are special, local connotations involved in the language?
The CONTEXT--the context of any folklore item is integral to a description of the item. You should try to record this as fully as possible. Context includes such matters as the physical setting--at home, in a bar, in a dormitory, the time of day or night; the social setting--who else was there and what part did they play--audience or participants? How much interaction was there and how would you describe the responses of the other people present? If you are collecting songs or stories and an informant is performing just for you, find out when he usually does this and for whom.
ITEMS of folklore (the texts): Each item of folklore which you collect should be given just as the informant gave it to you, word for word (even if a word is "ungrammatical" or "obscene"). Put only one item on a page. Include any tapes, photographs, or drawings with the texts. Tapes [or videos] should be accurately transcribed, and the transcription included with the collection.
Introductory ESSAY: Your essay is very important; without it the folklore you submit is of limited value. For it is in your essay that you recreate your fieldwork experience for your readers, providing them with as much of your experience and understanding of the material as you can. You will want to discuss such matters as the following: the reasons for your choice of the project; your relationship with your informants; some biographical information on your informants; your fieldwork methodology; the circumstances of the actual collecting; the nature of the folk group involved; any esoteric-exoteric factors involved; the folkloristic qualities of the materials you collected; what the lore reveals about the person or group it came from; evidence of dynamism or conservatism in the lore collected; an overall evaluation of the project with your analysis of its strengths and weaknesses [. . .] The essay should be a well-organized piece of writing, not just a series of answers to questions. [. . .]
[An Added Note: Be sure to have each of your informants complete a "Deed of Gift Agreement"--a blank copy will be provided to students in class.]
Fieldwork Project
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Text Sheet Format
The format for presenting an item of folklore--the
text--appears below. Each item should be placed on a separate page,
and each page should include all of the information indicated.
Please note: This page is not "to scale."
Fieldwork Project
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Last Updated 10/07/04