What is Folklore?
Introduction
This seminar is an overture to the module. In it, we will begin to discuss issues which we will return to across the module. We will consider the nature of folklore and the opportunities and the challenges which it poses for historians. We will start to consider sources and methods and the need to engage with other disciplines.
Seminar Questions
What is folklore?
What can historians learn from the study of folklore?
What are the key issues which historians using folklore need to address?
Required Reading
You should each read all of these items:
- EITHER Bendix, Regina F., and Galit Hasan-Rokem, 'Introduction' and 'Introduction to Part I', in Regina F. Bendix and Galit Hasan-Rokem, eds, A Companion to FolkloreLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window (Malden, MA, 2012) OR Bronner, Simon J., Folklore: The BasicsLink opens in a new window (London, 2017), Introduction and Chapter One.
- Bendix, Regina, 'The Uses of Disciplinary HistoryLink opens in a new window' Radical History Review 84 (2002), 110-114
- Cheeseman, Matthew, 'Introduction', in Folklore and Nation in Britain and IrelandLink opens in a new window, ed. ed. Matthew Cheeseman and Carina Hart (London, 2022), 1-21.
- Pooley, William G., 'Native to the Past: History, Anthropology, and Folklore in Past and PresentLink opens in a new window', Past & Present 239: 1 (2018), e1–e15
Further Reading
Bascom, William R., 'Four Functions of FolkloreLink opens in a new window', The Journal of American Folklore 67/266 (1954), 333–349
Bell, Karl, The Legend of Spring-Heeled Jack: Victorian Urban Folklore and Popular Cultures (London, 2012)
Bendix, Regina F., and Galit Hasan-Rokem, eds, A Companion to Folklore (Malden, MA, 2012)
Bennett, Margaret, ed., Scottish Customs: From the Cradle to the GraveLink opens in a new window (Edinburgh, 1992)
Blank, Trevor J., ed., Folk Culture in the Digital Age: The Emergent Dynamics of Human Interaction (Logan, UT, 2012)
Bronner, Simon J., Folklore: The BasicsLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window (London, 2017)
Burke, Peter, 'History and Folklore: A Historiographical SurveyLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window', Folklore 115/2 (2004), 133–139
Cheeseman, Matthew, 'Introduction', in Folklore and Nation in Britain and IrelandLink opens in a new window, ed. Matthew Cheeseman and Carina Hart (London, 2022), 1-21
Hobsbawm, Eric, 'Introduction: Inventing Traditions' in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds, The Invention of TraditionLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window (Cambridge, 1983)
Hopkin, David, 'Folklore and the HistorianLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window', Folklore 112/2 (2001), 218-222
Kingshill, Sophia, and Jennifer Westwood, The Fabled Coast: Legends and Traditions from Around the Shores of Britain and Ireland (London, 2014)
Kodish, Debora, 'Envisioning Folklore ActivismLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window', Journal of American Folklore 124 (2011), 31-60.
Lindahl, Carl, John McNamara and John Lindow, eds, Medieval Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Myths, Legends, Tales, Beliefs, and Customs, 2 vols (Oxford, 2000)
Lombardi-Satriani, Luigi, 'Folklore as Culture of ContestationLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window', Journal of the Folklore Institute 11:1/2 (1974), 99–121.
Meder, Theo, ‘In Search of the Dutch Lore of the Land: Old and New Legends throughout the Netherlands’, Folklore 122/2 (2011), 117–34.
Norman, Mark, Telling the Bees and Other Customs: The Folklore of Rural Crafts (Cheltenham, 2020)
Ó Giolláin, Diarmuid, Locating Irish Folklore: Tradition, Modernity, Identity (Cork, 2000)
Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí, The Lore of Ireland: An Encyclopaedia of Myth, Legend and Romance (Woodbridge, 2006)
Ó Súilleabháin, Seán, A Handbook of Irish Folklore (Dublin, 1942)
Owen, Trefor M., Welsh Folk Customs (Cardiff, 1959)
Rees, Gareth E., Unofficial Britain: Journeys through Unexpected Places (London, 2020)
Roud, Steve, The English Year: A Month-by-Month Guide to the Nation's Customs and Festivals, from May Day to Mischief Night (Harmondsworth, 2008)
Roud, Steve, The Lore of the Playground: One Hundred Years of Children's Games, Rhymes and Traditions (London, 2010)
Roud, Steve, The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland (Harmondsworth, 2003)
Simpson, Jacqueline, and Steve Roud, A Dictionary of English Folklore (Oxford, 2003)
Simpson, Jacqueline, Green Men & White Swans: The Folklore of British Pub Names (London, 2010)
Vickery, Roy, Vickery's Folk Flora: An A-Z of the Folklore and Uses of British and Irish Plants (London, 2019)
Walsham, Alexandra, 'Recording Superstition in Early Modern Britain: The Origins of Folklore', Past & Present 199, supplement 3 (2008), 178–206
Westwood, Jennifer, and Jacqueline Simpson, The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends, from Spring-Heeled Jack to the Witches of Warboys (Harmondsworth, 2005)
Westwood, Jennifer, and Sophia Kingshill, The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scottish Legends (London, 2009)
Wood, Juliette, 'Perceptions of the Past in Welsh Folklore StudiesLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window', Folklore 108:1-2, (1997), 93-102