May 8, 202012 min read

American Folklore

#tales #legends #myths #folk #ballad "This seminar begins with a survey of the basic genres of myth, legend, tale, and ballad -- their forms as well as the transmission and function." 15 "This course focuses on American folklore genres, including the folktale, legends and myths, riddles, proverbs, folk songs, speech play, festivals, customs, folk beliefs, and vernacular architecture." 28 "Based upon authentic field collections and research, the examples cited include folkways, jests, boasts, tall tales, ballads, folk and legendary heroes." 26 "Events, songs, Native American tales, myths, and local legends are all part of America's native folklore, which grows with the years." 3 "Folklore consists of legends, music, art, oral history, proverbs, popular beliefs, fairy tales, stories, tall tales, and customs that are the traditions of a culture or group." 19

#characters #Paul #Bunyan #life #Crockett "Students learn about Pecos Bill, Daniel Boone, Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, John Henry, and five other characters from America's folk history." 5 "Many stories and tall tales are based on real - life historical figures such as Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, while others are pure fiction such as Paul Bunyan and the Lone Ranger." 19 "At the same time, however, he shows what the creation of spurious folklore ( the Paul Bunyan legends, for instance ) discloses about our national character." 26 "The American push westward is replete with tales of characters, some of whom were real, and some of whom composites of several real characters." 3 "THE HERO is the main character in American Folklore, and he narrates the short film throughout as the visuals show us the various parts of his life story." 14

#tales #legends #myths #time "A tall tale is a story or a part of a story with unbelievable elements to it that are told as if they are literally true." 0 "But in both cases, a tall tale is the premise of the story, without which the story would be significantly different, or could not exist at all." 0 "A fascinating survey of the entire history of tall tales, folklore, and mythology in the United States from earliest times to the present, including stories and myths from the modern era that have become an essential part of contemporary popular culture." 24 "In modern times, folklore and tall tales experienced a rejuvenation with the emergence of urban legends and the growing popularity of science fiction and conspiracy theories, with mass media such as comic books, television, and films contributing to the retelling of old myths." 9

#history #land #gold "With a strong history in the gold mining industry, including the mid-19th century gold rush, and large swaths of empty and rural land, there is much room for this western state to have its fair share of folklore." 25 "Here, grounded firmly in American history, is a skilled folklorist's survey of the entire field of America's folklore -- from colonization to mass culture." 26 "Long before Europeans came to Colorado, the land had a rich history of settlement by Native Americans, and they have loads of their own folklore." 25 "Of all the folklore surrounding the Pilgrims 'arrival in what became Massachusetts, none is more indelibly ingrained in America's collective memory as their landing at Plymouth Rock." 3 "The truth of much of American history has been blurred with local folklore to become hidden within the mists of time." 3

#roots #understanding #help #society "These are stories of a new society coming to terms with its own diversity, conflicts, blessings and sins, and understanding those roots can help us imagine the better society we want to grow for the future." 1 "It can help us recognize the masks we wear now, see the true faces underneath, and discover ways to use that understanding to create better stories and new masks suited to the society we want to build on the foundation of the one we inherited." 1 "Learning to see their contemporary manifestations can help us tell fresh tales, become more aware of the sometimes problematic roots of our internalized archetypes, and better understand the uniquely American approach to the fantastic that runs through all our storytelling." 1

#family #helped #generations #recordings #folk "Folklore has not just helped African Americans to record and remember large - scale events, or relate morals as other folk tales do - it has helped with individual family genealogy too." 11 "Family history figures in many folk tales makes each story unique, as one's own heritage will be intertwined with its telling." 11 "In Roots, Alex Haley's work of historical family fiction, the main character's father, Omoro Kinte, initiates a baptism ritual that has been transmitted throughout generations." 11

#traditions #students #expressive #study #class "Character Study Matrix Sample : This matrix is used as a sample to be reproduced for whole - class discussion and study." 10 "Approaching folklore as an expression of tradition in our lives opens up socially significant questions about the relationship of tradition to modernization, individualism, and community." 18 "You must be willing and able to commit the same amount of time as you would for attending class and studying for a traditional course." 18 "Examining the historical, cultural, social, and psychological dimensions of such expressive forms as myth, legend, folktale, music, dance, art, belief, foodways, ritual and ceremony, the student investigates how tradition expresses the dynamics of human behavior." 12 "This case study will be a model for your own application of folkloristic methods in a project for the class, and for uses of folkloristic approaches in other classes and majors, and potentially, in an American Studies major and folkloristic career." 18

#culture #Europe #inhabited "The folklore of various American ethnic groups, including Native Americans, African- Americans, and immigrants from various cultures, and the cultural exchanges among these diverse cultural groups, will be emphasized." 28 "Folklore has been a part of American culture for as long as humans have inhabited North America, and increasingly formed an intrinsic part of American culture as diverse peoples from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania arrived." 9 "Filipinos, Chinese, Indians, Native Americans, African Americans, Japanese, Vietnamese, and others were not always allowed to be who they wanted be, with their history written for them." 22 "And yet, even though they were forbidden from practising anything that related to their African culture and heritage, the native Africans kept it and their languages alive in America." 11

#Journal #Society #publishes "The Journal of American Folklore, the quarterly journal of the American Folklore Society since the Society's founding in 1888, publishes scholarly articles, notes, and commentaries directed to a wide professional audience." 13 "The Journal of American Folklore is the official journal of the American Folklore Society and presents recent scholarship by AFS members and scholars in allied fields." 17 "Dorson was editor of the Journal of American Folklore ( 1959 - 63 ), president of the American Folklore Society ( 1967 - 68 ), and author of numerous studies on the subject." 7 "The Journal of American Folklore website has more information on this journal and links to subscription - based sources of recent issues." 2 "The content is not restricted to folklore in the United States; the Journal publishes materials on folklore and from folklorists anywhere in the world." 13

#University #programs #Studies #College "Our 2,000 members and subscribers are scholars, teachers, and libraries at colleges and universities; public humanists working in arts and cultural organizations; and community members involved in folklore work." 8 "Simon J. Bronner is Dean of the College of General Studies and Professor of Social Sciences and Business at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of American Studies and Folklore at the Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg." 4 "In that case, mail the submission to : Journal of American Folklore, The Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd # 61029, Bowling Green, KY, 42101 - 1029." 13 "These days, almost half of US folklorists, including an increasing number based at universities, work in this "public sector," engaging with audiences of all ages and descriptions through public programs, including cultural tourism programs, festivals, museum exhibitions, and the development of curricula for K-12 school programs." 8

#Rabbit #outsmarting #nature #South #hero "A central figure in the folkloric Uncle Remus stories in the American South, Br'er Rabbit is a classic trickster character, outsmarting authority and subverting society with his wits." 30 "An amusing folk hero, Br'er Rabbit is not a simple persona, in that his amoral, chaotic nature can make trouble for friends as well as enemies, and most of all himself." 30 "One of his most famous stories is "The Laughing Place" in which Br'er Rabbit outsmarts his frenemies Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear with a cave full of bees." 30 "It's possible that because of the sly nature of hares, the character developed independently in multiple cultures, and dovetailed in combination to give rise to Br'er Rabbit as an American personality." 30 "In 1946, the Walt Disney Company used the Br'er Rabbit tales as the basis for its animated movie Song of the South, which, because of racism considerations, has never been released for home distribution." 30

#m #job #AFC #projects "Altogether, I am incredibly excited and inspired by the projects going on at AFC, and I 'm finding the work both challenging and rewarding." 16 "Though I 've worked before with collections of cultural or anthropological nature, being here at AFC really is my dream job - to work with one of the largest ethnographic collections in the country." 16 "I 'm excited to be starting work on the American Folklore Society Ethnographic Thesaurus ( AFSET ), a project I 've been following since it was in its earliest stages." 16 "It was sort of a leap of faith to move across the country for this job, but in just a few months its become clear to me that I am exactly where I 'm meant to be!" 16

#slaves #recordings #ancestors #Africa #worlds "Recorded from among the slave communities brought from Africa into the newly established plantation regions of the New World, the stories are an archive of the narrative worlds of slaves." 21 "Adapting the oral storytelling traditions of their ancestors helped slaves stolen from West Africa cope with and record their experiences in America." 11 "AFC holds historic Passamaquoddy recordings, made in 1890 by Jesse Walter Fewkes on wax cylinder, which contain the earliest known ethnographic field recordings in the world." 16 "Also included in the book are stories from sub - Saharan Africa -- from where the ancestors of the slaves came -- since they formed the source of the storytelling traditions seen among the latter." 21 "One important way of doing this was through folk tales, which the African slaves used as a way of recording their experiences." 11

#King #people #country #protested "We also pretend that certain people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was always accepted and loved by the American people because he protested the "right" way." 22 "However, now when you turn on a television, you see King's image selling trucks and with the Right shaming other protest movements in America for "not being more like Dr. King." 22 "However, we can tell the story of this country however we want to tell it, as long as America comes out on top." 22 "We totally ignore that it wasn't until the late 80's that people started seeing King in a positive light instead of the communist sympathizing, anti - war, unpatriotic, moralizing jerk that made white people feel bad about racism." 22 "It's the rewriting of history that this country continues to engage in when it isn't mentioned that George Washington, the father of the country, owned slaves." 22

#origins #generation #passed #places "Although folklore can originate as a published work or have a clear historical foundation, recall that the purest forms of folklore generally have obscure origins." 27 "Superstitions are similar to folklore in that they are often passed down from generation to generation and have their basis in tales that date back for centuries." 19 "Folktales are generally passed down from one generation to another and often take on the characteristics of the time and place in which they are told." 19 "And sometimes folklore can begin life with clear, recorded origins and become part of a nation's body of folklore as it becomes so ingrained in a nation's culture that its origins are forgotten." 27 "Sometimes folklore appears to be genuine ( meaning it has been handed down orally over generations and has obscure origins ) but, in reality, is the product of clever authorship and marketing!" 27

#materials #communities #project #knowledge #access "The Ancestral Voices project is a collaboration with communities of origin initiating a new paradigm of classification, curation and methods of access for indigenous materials." 16 "I am hopeful this will serve as a model for how we will work with other tribal communities in the future to make these materials more accessible and meaningful to the communities documented." 16 "My role in this project has been to do the initial cataloging of the recordings, in preparation for incorporation of the cultural knowledge from the indigenous knowledge keepers." 16 "The primary goal is to increase access to the rich Native American collections held at AFC and provide culturally responsive care and use of these materials." 16 "Since starting her job in August, Kelly has been tasked with a number of projects ranging from increasing access to AFC's Native American recordings to transforming legacy data from donors to create collection finding aids." 16

#information #inventories #archives #data "This kind of work will let AFC more quickly get information about our collections out of "landlocked" paper inventories that must be accessed on site, and out into the great sea of information online." 16 "Dealing with legacy data, often in digital formats that are in danger of obsolescence or even hand - written paper - based information, is not just common in archives." 16 "In the decade since, I 've worked in archives almost continuously, most often as a "lone arranger" or sole archivist at an organization." 16 "It means all the hundreds of hours of work that went into these old inventories and container lists and catalog cards does not need to be repeated again and again as technology changes, and we can get so much more value from the good work of our archival predecessors." 16

#creature #beast #jackalope "Jackalope Hunting Licenses are good for hunting only during official jackalope season, which occurs for only one day, on June 31." 30 "The legendary beast called the jackalope, the exceedingly rare leptus antilocapra, is a hybrid of a killer hare and pygmy deer." 30 "American folklore is filled with unbelievable beasts, monsters and demons -- read on to learn more about some of these lesser - known characters." 20 "Often, there is a link between folklore and mythology and could easily include our other legends categories such as strange creatures, ghosts, and witches." 19 "Commonly described as a hoofed, flying creature, tales of the Jersey Devil are so popular that the state named its hockey team after the beast." 20 "From time to time, Gillespie offers courses in weird folklore where he discusses creatures such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and the Jersey Devil." 15

#immigrants #came #grandparents #countries "That's the narrative that Americans believe about other immigrants while ignoring that many of their grandparents came from countries that weren't so great." 22 "This also ignores the fact that some of these people are only in slightly better circumstances than their grandparents and great grandparents found when they came here." 22 "So, we are told that Mexicans are rapists, Native Americans aren't really native to this country, Slovenia grows supermodels like beanstalks, and Haitians come from shit - hole countries." 22 "While White Americans were able to lie about who they were, they denied that right to people of color that came here." 22 "These children of immigrants tell the same story; they came here with ten cents in their pocket and a dream to get to America." 22

#review #author #eBooks #format #access "Most VitalSource eBooks are available in a reflowable EPUB format which allows you to resize text to suit you and enables other accessibility features." 6 "Reviews and review articles are generally requested by the review editors, but the editors welcome queries from scholars concerned with particular areas of folklore research." 13 "Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format ( rtf ) and should not include the author's name or any references within the text that would identify the author to the manuscript reviewers." 13 "Where the content of the eBook requires a specific layout, or contains maths or other special characters, the eBook will be available in PDF ( PBK ) format, which can not be reflowed." 6 "For both formats the functionality available will depend on how you access the ebook ( via Bookshelf Online in your browser or via the Bookshelf app on your PC or mobile device )." 6

#Bridge #Bunny #Man #Fairfax #woods "As their search went on, they began to find skinned, half - eaten bunnies in the woods and hanging from the overpass of Fairfax Bridge, now known as "The Bunny Man Bridge." 29 "To this day, there have been many sightings of dead rabbits appearing in the woods surrounding Fairfax Bridge, now known as "The Bunny Man Bridge," as well as a white figure appearing late at night underneath the bridge." 29 "In 1970, there were numerous police reports of people who had been threatened by a man holding an axe wearing a white suit with bunny ears." 29

#collections #vocabularies #entry #bibliography #controlled "There had been a gap for a long time for controlled vocabularies related to ethnographic collections, which the Ethnographic Thesaurus aims to fill." 16 "A controlled vocabulary is an organized set of terms, usually for a particular discipline or domain, used for consistency in description and search and access across collections." 16 "The alphabetically arranged entries vary from concise definitions to detailed surveys, each accompanied by a brief, up - to - date bibliography." 23 "Each entry also includes a short bibliography that will direct students or interested general readers toward other sources for further investigation." 9

#cars #room #reports #hotel #convicts "Other rooms are also haunted, with guests and cleaning crews reporting seeing impressions on beds in empty rooms, and the sounds of children playing when no children are staying in the hotel." 25 "They often describe coyotes with human eyes following cars and transforming into men with glowing yellow eyes if the cars hit them." 25 "There are numerous reports of otherworldly dogs that chase cars on the road, regardless of velocity, and shred tires, which cause awful accidents." 25 "En route, one of the buses crashed, the convicts managed to escape, and the police were able to round up all but one of the convicts." 29 "Guests staying in the room, # 407, have reported the lights being turned on and off until they asked Dunraven to please stop, at which point he obliged and began making noises in the hallway by the elevator, just outside the room.

American Folklore

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