UNC Folklore Program, Department of American Studies: Program Information Applying Program Profile Master's Reading List Degree Requirements

 
   
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Degree Requirements

M.A. Degree
The M.A. program in Folklore stresses flexibility, inviting students to craft a course-plan to meet their particular needs. Master's students must complete ten courses (30 hours); of these, only two-"The Art of Ethnography" and "Introduction to Folklore Theory"-are required. Other courses must demonstrate a rough balance between genre (e.g., Vernacular Traditions in African American Music, Issues in Material Folk Culture), theory (e.g., Consciousness and Symbols, Fictions of Gender), and practice (e.g., Public Folklore, Oral History, Documentary Photography). In addition to classes in the core program, students traditionally take courses from a variety of associated graduate programs, including Anthropology, Communications Studies, English and Comparative Literature , History, and Music. Needless to say, this vastly expands the available course list, embracing such classes as Performance and Oral History, Medical Anthropology, and The South in Comparative Perspective. Students may also arrange to take courses at Duke University, including courses in the Department of Cultural Anthropology http://culturalanthropology.duke.edu/, ethnomusicology courses in the Department of Music http://music.duke.edu/grads/, and courses offered by the Center for Documentary Studies http://cds.aas.duke.edu/. Students pursuing an M.A. must demonstrate reading proficiency in a foreign language. Students opting for a Folklore minor in another Ph.D. program must complete six courses, chosen in consultation with the Coordinator of the Folklore Program.

At the beginning of their fourth semester, students take a comprehensive exam that tests their understanding of folklore theory, history, and practice. In addition to drawing on their coursework and fieldwork, the exam presumes knowledge of the core texts in a reading list jointly prepared (and regularly revised) by faculty and students. The approximately 60 items on the list encompass key texts and monographs, articles, films, and sound recordings. Materials and updates will be posted on a Blackboard website to which students will have access. Students also have the option of tailoring a section of the exam to their particular research interests.

The final requirement for the M.A. is an original thesis of approximately 70-100 pages, based on fieldwork and/or library research. Once again, creative freedom is the rule; recent theses have explored topics ranging from the the collage art of a Cuban cigar roller to the evolving musical and political experience of a local women’s chorus. Working closely with a thesis advisor and two readers, students ideally develop a proposal for their thesis during their third semester of study and complete the thesis during their fourth semester or the following summer.

 

Undergraduate Major & Minor
For undergraduates the Folklore Program offers both a minor directly and a major arranged through Interdisciplinary Studies (http://www.unc.edu/depts/uc/ht_idst.html and http://www.unc.edu/ugradbulletin/depts/interdisciplinary.html. The undergraduate minor requires five courses that strike a balance between genre, practice, and theory; the major calls for a similar interdisciplinary distribution of eight courses. Both the minor and major give undergraduates an opportunity to earn formal recognition for their work in Folklore. They are designed to:
  1. introduce the discipline of Folklore;
  2. explore the complexities of the art of ethnography;
  3. recognize the experience and achievements of folk artists and groups who are often neglected or misunderstood by the dominant culture.

The Folklore Program is small, informal, and intimate. Undergraduate students work closely with faculty and with the consultants they meet while doing fieldwork. Excellent local resources for study and research include the Southern Folklife Collection (containing 90,000 sound recordings), the Archie Green Labor Song Collection, the American Religious Tunebook Collection, and the Southern Historical Collection.

The undergraduate minor in Folklore consists of five three-hour courses, as specified in the categories listed below:
  1. FOLK 485 Introduction to Folklore
  2. Two courses on genre from: FOLK 334, 375, 470, 484, 487, 502, 550, 560, 571,585, 610; ANTH 147, 151; MUSC 144, 145, 146, 147
  3. One course on community from: FOLK 130, 230, 340, 342, 488, 587, 589, 684; ANTH 142, 155, 205, 226, 234; MUSC 240
  4. One course on theory from: FOLK 323, 428, 429, 435, 454, 455, 473, 525, 537, 562, 565, 670, 675, 688; ANTH 120

From time to time, current or visiting faculty will offer additional Folklore courses not listed here.  The Program will post these to the semester's course listingand will determine-- on a course-by-course basis-- which minor requirements each will fill.

Patricia Sawin, Coordinator of the Folklore Program, serves as the advisor for minors. Those interested in pursuing an Interdisciplinary Studies major with a Folklore focus are also strongly encouraged to consult with Professor Sawin as well as with the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Curricula, who directly advises IDTS majors.