12.12 Folklore

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The Degree of Master of Arts in Folklore is offered by part-time and full-time study. The program normally requires extensive fieldwork research in Newfoundland.

Integral to the teaching of the Department of Folklore is work of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive.


12.12.1 Program of Study

  1. Applicants may be admitted to the graduate program if they have an average of at least grade 'B' in no fewer than 36 credit hours in Folklore or in any other discipline in the Humanities or Social Sciences.

  2. The M.A. program will normally be completed within six consecutive semesters (i.e., a two-year period). The Degree of Master of Arts in Folklore may be taken by course work and comprehensive examination, course work and thesis, or course work and co-operative education work terms. All options are available to full-time and part-time students. However, the work term component of option C cannot be completed on a part-time basis.

    1. M.A. With Thesis:

      1. Students choosing to do the M.A. with thesis must normally complete a minimum of 24 credit hours plus a thesis. Normally, the required courses are:

        • 6010, 6020, and 6030, normally taken as an integrated foundation in the Fall semester.

        • At least one of the following: 6060, 6100, 6120, 6130, 6200, 6210, 6220, 6250, 6260, 6360, 6720.

        • At least one of the following: 6070, 6300, 6310, 6350, 6370, 6400, 6410, 6420, 6430.

        • Nine additional credit hours to be selected from courses in the groups listed above or from the other courses offered by the Department.

      2. A brief thesis pre-proposal, including a statement of topic, working title, plan of research, ethics statement, preliminary bibliography, and the name of a preferred Supervisor, shall be submitted no later than the end of the student's second semester. A full proposal shall normally be submitted to the Department of Folklore and orally presented before members of the faculty by the end of the student’s fourth semester. The written thesis proposal should be made available to faculty members at least two weeks prior to the scheduled date of a student's oral presentation of the proposal. Following approval of the thesis proposal and consultation with the student, the Supervisor and thesis topic will be recommended to the Dean.

    2. M.A. With Comprehensive Examination:

      1. Students choosing to do the M.A. with comprehensive examination must normally complete a minimum of 30 credit hours plus comprehensive examination. Normally, the required courses are:

        • 6010, 6020, and 6030, normally taken as an integrated foundation in the Fall semester.

        • At least one of the following: 6060, 6100, 6120, 6130, 6200, 6210, 6220, 6250, 6260, 6360, 6720.

        • At least one of the following: 6070, 6300, 6310, 6350, 6370, 6400, 6410, 6420, 6430.

        • Fifteen additional credit hours to be selected from courses in the groups listed above or from the other courses offered by the Department.

      2. Each student selecting the M.A. with comprehensive examination option shall normally submit, by the end of the student’s second semester, written notification of intention to take comprehensives.

      3. Each student selecting this option shall normally write the comprehensive examination at the end of the student's fifth semester in the program. The comprehensive examination will be graded by a comprehensive examination committee appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies on the recommendation of the Head of the Department, in accordance with General Regulations governing the School of Graduate Studies.

    3. M.A. With Public and Applied Folklore Co-operative Education Work Terms:

      1. Students choosing to do the M.A. with Public and Applied Folklore Co-operative Education option must normally complete a minimum of 24 credit hours plus two co-operative education work terms. Normally the required courses are:

        • 6010, 6020, and 6030, normally taken as an integrated foundation in the Fall semester.

        • 6740 or 6800 and at least one additional course selected from the following: 6551, 6740, 6760, 6790, 6800.

        • At least one of the following: 6060, 6100, 6120, 6130, 6200, 6210, 6220, 6250, 6260, 6360, 6720.

        • At least one of the following: 6070, 6300, 6310, 6350, 6370, 6400, 6410, 6420, 6430.

        • Three additional credit hours to be selected from courses in the groups listed above or from the other courses offered by the Department.

        • 601W and 602W.

      2. The dates for starting and finishing each work term are shown at www.mun.ca/coop.

      3. The Co-op component of the program is managed by the Academic Staff Members in Co-operative Education for the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (ASMs-CE). It is the student’s responsibility to seek and obtain a work term. Work terms cannot be guaranteed by the University although every effort will be made to assist students in their job searches. Work term jobs may be outside St. John’s and possibly outside Newfoundland and Labrador. Work term jobs identified by students must be confirmed in writing by the employer and approved by the ASM-CE on or before the first day of the work term.

      4. A student who is unable to secure a work term may apply for a change to the thesis or comprehensive examination program option.

      5. By entering the program, students give permission for ASMs-CE to supply their resumes and transcripts to potential employers.

      6. Work terms are co-evaluated by a faculty member in the department of Folklore and by the ASM-CE.

      7. The work term evaluation shall consist of two components:

        • On-the-job Student Performance as evaluated by ASM-CE with feedback from the student’s on-site supervisor.

        • One or more reports graded by the student’s program supervisor in consultation with the ASM-CE.

      8. Evaluation of the work term will result in the assignment of one of the following final grades:

        • Pass with Distinction: Indicates OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE in both the work report(s) and work performance.

        • Pass: Indicates that PERFORMANCE MEETS EXPECTATIONS in both the work report(s) and work performance.

        • Fail: Indicates FAILING PERFORMANCE in the work report(s) and/or the work performance.

        If a student fails to achieve a final grade of Pass or Pass with Distinction, and provided the student has not failed to achieve a grade of 'B' or better in any program course, the student may apply for a change of route to the thesis or comprehensive examination program option.

      9. A student is not permitted to drop a work term without prior approval of the Department and the ASMs-CE. A student who drops a work term without permission, or who fails to honour an agreement to work with an employer, will be assigned a grade of FAL (fail) for that work term.

        A student who conducts oneself in such a manner as to cause termination from the job, will normally be assigned a grade of FAL (fail) for that work term.


12.12.2 Courses

A selection of the following graduate courses will be offered to meet the requirements of students, normally after consultation with the Head of the Department or the Graduate Studies Administrator, and as far as the resources of the Department will allow. Courses are structured according to the categories of: Theories and Methods, Issues, Form and Performance, Special Topics, Regional, National and International Heritage, Social Identities, Public and Applied Folklore, Interdisciplinary Perspectives, and Required (Ph.D.):

Co-operative Education Work Terms

  • 601W Work Term I
  • 602W Work Term II

Theories and Methods

  • 6010 Survey of Folklore Genres and Processes
  • 6020 Field and Research Methods (may be offered in accelerated format)
  • 6030 Folklore Theories
  • 6040 Feminist Theories: Perspectives and Issues
  • 6080 Vernacular Theories
  • 6090 Ethnology

Issues

  • 6050 Issues in Folkloristics
  • 6060 Foundations of Performance Studies
  • 6070 Issues in Folklife

Form and Performance

  • 6100 Song and Music
  • 6120 Ballad
  • 6130 Folk Music Canons and Documentary Sound Recordings
  • 6200 Folktale
  • 6210 Legend
  • 6220 Personal Experience Narrative
  • 6250 Language and Play
  • 6260 Ethnography of Communications
  • 6300 Ethnography of Belief
  • 6310 Health Systems
  • 6350 Custom
  • 6360 Traditional Drama
  • 6370 Ritual, Festival and Public Display
  • 6400 Material Culture
  • 6410 Vernacular Architecture
  • 6420 Art and the Artifact
  • 6430 Food and Culture
  • 6720 Folklore and Literature

Special Topics

  • 6511-29 Special Topics in Folklore
  • 6550 Special Research in Folklore
  • 6551 Indigenous Expressive Cultures in Cross-cultural Encounter
  • 6552-69 Special Research in Folklore
  • 6570-79 Reading Course in Folklore

Regional, National and International Heritage

  • 6600 Folklore of Newfoundland
  • 6610 Folklore of Canada
  • 6620 Folklore of the United States
  • 6630 Folklore of the British Isles
  • 6640 Traditional Culture of Scotland
  • 6650 Culture and Traditions of Ireland
  • 6660 Folklore of the Francophone Regions
  • 6690 International Folklore

Social Identities

  • 6510 Occupational Folklife
  • 6730 Folklore and Gender
  • 6770 The Global and the Local
  • 6780 Ethnicities

Public and Applied Folklore

  • 6380 Perspectives on Cultural Tourism
  • 6740 Public Sector Folklore
  • 6760 Archiving
  • 6790 Museums: Perspectives and Practices
  • 6800 Applied Folklore

Interdisciplinary Perspectives

  • 6700 Folklore and Culture
  • 6710 Oral Tradition and Oral History
  • 6750 Popular Culture: Theory and Debate

Required (Ph.D.)

  • 7000 Advanced Folkloristics I
  • 7100 Advanced Folkloristics II Research and Ethnography
Note:

Credit may not be obtained for both 6010 and the former 6110; 6020 and the former 6111; 6030 and the former 6112; 6100 and the former 6430; 6120 and the former 6445; 6300 and the former 6230; 6350 and the former 6230; 6400 and the former 6501; 6720 and the former 6460.

The information on this site has been extracted from the Official 2023-2024 University Calendar. While every reasonable effort has been made to duplicate the information contained in the official University Calendar, if there are differences, the official Memorial University of Newfoundland Calendar will be considered the final and accurate authority.

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