In accordance with Senate's Policy Regarding Inactive Courses, courses which have not been offered in the previous three academic years and which are not scheduled to be offered in the current academic year have been removed from the following listing. For information about any of these inactive courses, please contact the Head of the Department.
1000. Introduction to Folklore. The role that tradition plays in communication, art and society will be discussed through an examination of folklore materials from Newfoundland and the English-speaking world. Readings and "listenings" will emphasize the use of folklore in context, e.g., the proverb in speech and the folksong in childrearing. Students will be urged to analyze the traditions in their own lives through special assignments. A student may not receive credit for both Folklore 1000 and 2000*.
* Inactive Course
1050. Folklore Studies. An examination of specific folklore
studies illustrating important themes and approaches in folkloristics. These
will include antiquarian, nationalistic, diffusionist, historic-contextual,
functional, structural, and performance analyses as typified in selected
readings from the works of leading folklorists.
NOTE: There is no prerequisite for this course. However, students should
note that they will need to take Folklore 1000 (or 2000*) before they can
advance to other courses.
* Inactive Course
1060. Folklore and Culture. An introduction to traditional
expressive behaviour as cultural experience. Readings and lectures will
explore the various meanings of "culture" from interdisciplinary perspectives
and link the development of theoretical approaches to culture (evolutionary,
materialist, particularist, psychological, semiotic, dramaturgic) to specific
folkloric phenomena. Illustrations will derive primarily from children's
folklore, material culture, and occupational folklife.
NOTE: There is no prerequisite for this course. However, students should
note that they will need to take Folklore 1000 (or 2000*) before they can
advance to other courses.
* Inactive Course
2100. Folklore Research Methods - An Introduction. This
course is designed to provide the basic introduction to the research resources,
tools and methods regularly employed in the area of Folklore. On the one
hand, the course will examine what types of Library and Archive resources
can be useful to the folklorist and, on the other hand, it will explore how
folklorists in fieldwork situations should handle people, and how they can
capture for posterity a record of the interviews that they have conducted
and the events that they have observed. This course qualifies as a Research/Writing
course.
NOTE: It is strongly recommended that majors and minors take this course
before taking 3000 and 4000 level courses.
2230. Newfoundland Society and Culture. (Same as Sociology/Anthropology 2230.)
2300. Newfoundland Folklore. (Same as Anthropology 2300.)
A survey of the various types of Folklore: tale, song, rhyme, riddle, proverb,
belief, custom, childlore and others, with stress on their function in the
Newfoundland community culture. Individual collection and analysis of materials
from the students' home communities, supplemented by data from the M.U.N.
Folklore and Language Archive.
Prerequisite: Folklore 1000 or 2000*, or Anthropology 1031.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 2300 and the former
Folklore 3420.
* Inactive Course
2500. Folk Literature. (Same as Anthropology 2500.) An
examination of the major genres of folk literature: folk narrative, folk
poetry and song, folk drama, and the traditional generic forms within folk
speech. An introduction to the textual, comparative and contextual methods
of analysis. The literature discussed will be international in scope.
Prerequisite: Folklore 1000 or 2000*, or Anthropology 1031.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 2500 and any of
the former Folklore 3400, English 3400, Sociology/Anthropology 3400.
* Inactive Course
3001. Art, Architecture and Medieval Life. (Same as Medieval
Studies 3001, History 3020, Anthropology 3589). An examination of the development
of medieval art and architecture and of the ways in which they mirror various
aspects of life in the Middle Ages. This course will include a discussion
of art and architecture in the countryside, in the town, in the castle,
in the cathedral and in the cloister.
NOTE: It is recommended, but not obligatory, that students should have
successfully completed one of the following courses: Anthropology 2480,
Folklore 1000 or 2000*, History 2320/MST 2001, History 2330/MST 2002, MST
2000.
* Inactive Course
3100. Folktale. A study of oral fictional folk narrative,
including animal tale, Märchen, jest, formula tale and related forms.
Special attention to European and American texts and scholarship. Extensive
reading, oral and written reports. Collecting of Newfoundland texts will
be encouraged.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 3100 and the former
Folklore 4200.
3130. Greek and Roman Mythology. (Same as Classics 3130.)
3200. Folksong. (Same as Music 3017.) An introduction
to the full range of traditional verse, song and music. Stress primarily
on the songs of Canada, the United States and the British Isles, with attention
to Newfoundland parallels. Examination of traditional vocal and instrumental
styles as well as verse forms. Some reference to non-Western musical traditions.
A knowledge of music is not a prerequisite.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 3200/Music 3017
and the former Folklore 2430.
3250. The Ballad. An examination of one of the major
genres of international folk literature. Concerns include a taxonomic exploration
of the sub-genres (tragic, comic, romantic, belief, historical, religious,
riddling, and medieval minstrelsy ballads), and such topics as transmission,
function, context, and aesthetics. Similarities and dissimilarities in the
methodologies for dealing with written literature and the literature of
tradition will also be considered.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 3250 and the former
Folklore 4445.
3460. Folklore and Literature. (Same as English 3460.)
This course will examine the interrelationships among folklore forms and
literary genres, the influence of oral traditions on written literatures,
and consider the theoretical issues raised by these interrelationships. The
primary emphasis will be on the interpretation of literature from the perspective
of folk tradition. Extensive reading, oral and written reports will be required.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore/English 3460 and
the former Folklore/English 4450.
3591. Collections Management. (Same as Anthropology 3591). This course will introduce students to the problems of collections storage with respect to environment, materials and artifact access. Students will become familiar with the materials encountered in archaeological and ethnographic collections. The storage of specific historic and prehistoric collections from Newfoundland and Labrador will be examined with the purpose of providing practical examples of methodology.
3601-3620 excluding 3606 and 3618. Special Topic in Folklore.
3606. Folklore and the Supernatural. By examining patterns of belief and the features of supernatural folklore, this course attempts to understand the nature of surviving and declining tradition. The course focuses on the phenomenological features of supernatural traditions; explanatory frameworks and their internal logic; means of developing and maintaining belief; functions and structures of belief traditions; and relationships between genres of belief. The general approach of this course is ethnographic, focusing on the ethnography of belief systems.
3618. Jazz and Blues: The Roots of Popular Music (Same as Music 3018). An overview of blues and jazz as traditional musical forms. Lectures and listening will illustrate the development of regional music cultures and generic styles. To better understand the shift of blues and jazz from regional to global performance contexts, the course will examine the effects of changing transmissional media, from predominantly sensory media through contemporary media technologies. A term paper concerning musical style will entail library research and aural analysis.
3700. Museums and Historic Sites. (Same as Anthropology 3710). An introduction to museums and historic sites, their work, and their role in societies past and present. Various types of museums and historic sites will be discussed using local, national and international examples, looking at their collections and exhibitions policies. Practical issues will also be discussed; these include museum exhibit display techniques, public programming, virtual museums, and the museum profession.
3710-3729. Special Topics in Folklore (available only as part of the Harlow Campus Semester).
3800*. Fieldwork in Vernacular Architecture: Drawings and Photography. (Same as Anthropology 3800). This course will provide the technical background required for documenting vernacular architecture, with an emphasis on drawings, photography, and computer simulations. A group fieldwork project will involve using both computer and mechanical methods of recording, and usually focus on the documentation of St. John's buildings.
* Inactive Course
3820. Folk Custom. This course provides an introduction
to the study of the forms of British, European, and North American folk
custom. Issues for discussion will include the diffusion, functions, maintenance
and invention of calendar, seasonal, occupational, and life-cycle customs.
As such, we will review much of the new scholarship which has shifted folkloristic
attention from origins of customs to the analysis of custom as symbolic
behaviour. Current work on the study of custom has examined, for example,
the legitimation of class interests via traditional customs, the play of
metaphor in festivals, and the symbolic statement of social obligations
through life-cycle ritual.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 3820 and the former
Folklore 3600.
3830. Foodways. The term foodways embraces a variety of traditions which focus on dietary practices as well as the preparation and allocation of food. As an introduction to foodways, the course will begin by looking at a variety of regional foods. In addition, both historical and contemporary approaches to the supply, storage, preparation and serving of food will be considered. In fact, we will be looking, from both practical and theoretical perspectives, at the whole range of cookery and food habits - from the acquisition of raw materials to the allocation of portions.
3850. Material Culture. (Same as Anthropology 3850.) An examination of various interpretive theories of objects as cultural products. Problems of defining the artifact will be discussed, as well as the strengths and limitations of using objects in historical and ethnographic research. Questions discussed include form, design, decoration, diffusion, and the role of the creator of the object. Besides folkloristic work on material culture, a variety of interdisciplinary approaches will be considered. Emphasis will be on the material folk culture of Newfoundland and its European antecedents.
3860. Vernacular Architecture. (Same as Anthropology 3860 and History 3860.) A historical survey of vernacular architectural forms in various regions of North America, with attention to Newfoundland materials. Issues discussed include the relationship of house form and culture, the concepts of antecedents, diffusion, innovation and evolution of building forms and technologies, and the siting of buildings in the landscape. Dwelling houses, outbuildings, churches and industrial vernacular architecture will be included.
3900. Newfoundland Vernacular Furnishings. An introduction to the furnishings of the Newfoundland domestic interior, involving case studies from public and private collections. The focus of the course will be on furniture, looking at both urban and outport forms. The cultural context of typical furnishings will be discussed, as well as details of furniture form and construction. While furniture will be emphasized, other objects of domestic material culture may be included: glass, ceramics, metalware and textiles.
3910. Occupational Folklife. Readings, lectures, and directed fieldwork aimed at identifying, documenting, and analyzing the role of tradition in contemporary occupational groups and work settings. Interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives on the nature of work and the characteristics of traditional, industrial and service occupations will be examined. Major topics of study will include work techniques, the uses of verbal and non-verbal codes, alienation, defensive behaviour, and labourlore.
3930. Folklore and Popular Culture. An examination of
the transitional processes involved in the development of folk societies
to mass cultures with regard to folklore and the products of popular culture.
In addition, sensory and technological media theories will be scrutinized
and evaluated in conjunction with cultural comparisons of the qualities
and functions of: folksong, disc recordings and the radio; folktales, television
melodrama and popular film; folk art and popular "techno-art" forms.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 3930 and the former
Folklore 2400.
3940. Folklore in Medieval Society. (Same as Medieval Studies 3002). An examination of selected aspects of medieval society which both develop earlier features of western culture and evolve into recognisable modern forms. These aspects may include such topics as legend and folktale, folksong and ballad, custom, belief, folk speech, drama, games and recreations, material culture and vernacular architecture.
3950. Women and Traditional Culture. An introduction to the ways in which women shape and/or are shaped by traditional culture. Readings and lectures will explore roles and contributions of women as folklore collectors, examine representations of women in folklore forms, and analyze women's creation of their own traditions.
4015. Cultural Resource Management. (Same as Anthropology
4015 and Geography 4015). This course is a study of cultural resource management:
the definition and recognition of cultural resources, the application of
policy in managing cultural resources, and the identification and consideration
of contemporary issues in cultural resource management.
Three hours of lecture and three hours of seminar per week.
4300. Folklore of Canada. An examination of a variety
of Canadian folklore from historical, geographical and cultural perspectives.
Emphasis will be placed upon the application of theories of Canadian culture
to folklore studies. Questions of the role of folklore and folklife with
respect to identity, ethnicity, multiculturalism, national literature, regionalism
and similar issues will be considered.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 4300 and the former
Folklore 1020.
4310. Studies in Newfoundland Folklore. Studies of rural
and urban Newfoundland with specific reference to a culture in transition.
Folklore is examined as one of the channels through which a people maintain,
change and adapt various cultural patterns. The course will include field
trips when feasible.
Prerequisite: Folklore 2300.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 4310 and the former
Folklore 3421.
4370. Culture and Traditions of Ireland. (Same as Anthropology
4370). An examination of the culture and traditions of Ireland through an
interdisciplinary approach; historical, geographical, cultural and literary
factors will be considered. Emphasis will be on the contemporary scene.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 4370 and the former
Folklore 4351.
4440. Music and Culture. (Same as Anthropology 4440 and Music 4440.) Traditional music as an aspect of human behaviour in Western and non-European cultures. Examination of the functions and uses of music; folk-popular-art music distinctions; and the relation of style to content. Outside reading, class exercises and individual reports will be required.
4460. Folk Religion. (Same as Religious Studies 4460.)
An examination of folk responses to organized religion, surveying the religious
forms and interpretations not specifically delineated by Theology. Areas
of focus include: folk religious concepts of space and time; religion and
healing; witchcraft and the devil; religious folk art and music; religious
verbal art; the role and power of the holy person; the saint system; and
community social activities sponsored by the church. A discussion of some
current popular religious movements will also be included. Attention will
be given to material in the MUN Folklore and Language Archive, and research
based on field data will be encouraged.
NOTE: Credit may not be obtained for both Folklore 4460 and the former
Folklore 4240.
4480. Folklore and Oral History. (Same as History 4480.) This seminar deals with the uses of oral sources, particularly those which have a traditional dimension, for the study of history. It will discuss the methods developed by Vansina, Dorson and others for evaluating the historical meaning of oral traditions in literate and non-literate cultures. The uses of oral testimony in the study of traditional modes of life and work such as fishing and farming will be considered. The use of oral traditions in the study of social and political history will also be discussed.
4500-4520. Special Topic in Folklore.
4600-4615. Special Research in Folklore.
4700-4715. Directed Reading Course.
400X. Folklore in the Community Context. A fifteen credit
hour program of work open only to Honours students in Folklore.
Students will collect traditional material and analyze folkloric behaviour
in a community setting. Each student will live and conduct field research
in a small community in Newfoundland (or in one of the other Atlantic Provinces)
for a minimum period of ten weeks. Before leaving for the community, the
choice of which must be approved by the Department, the student will be assigned
a supervisor by the Department, and in consultation with the supervisor
will develop a proposed fieldwork project. The student will present reports
to the supervisor during and upon the completion of the period of fieldwork.
All original field data will be deposited in the MUN Folklore and Language
Archive.
Included in the 400X program is the Honours dissertation for which three
of the fifteen credit hours is awarded and which must be completed before
the course is concluded. The dissertation must be a well-organized presentation
and analysis of field data, including collectanea, descriptions of folkloric
behaviour, and the biographies of major informants secured by interviews.
4998. Honours Comprehensive Examination. This may be written or oral, or a combination of both (3 credit hours).
4999. Honours Essay. (3 credit hours).
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