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Folklore is the body of verbal expressive culture, including tales, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs current among a particular population, comprising the oral tradition of that culture, subculture, or group. The academic and usually ethnographic study of folklore is known as folkloristics.

History


The concept of folklore developed as part of the 19th century ideology of romantic nationalism, leading to the reshaping of oral traditions to serve modern ideological goals; only in the 20th century did ethnographers begin to attempt to record folklore without overt political goals. The Brothers Grimm, Wilhelm and Jakob Grimm, collected orally transmitted German tales and published the first series as Kinder- und Hausmärchen ("Children's and Household Tales") in 1812.

The term was coined in 1846 by an Englishman, William Thoms, who wanted to use an Anglo-Saxon term for what was then called "popular antiquities." Johann Gottfried von Herder first advocated the deliberate recording and preservation of folklore to document the authentic spirit, tradition, and identity of the German people; the belief that there can be such authenticity is one of the tenets of the romantic nationalism which Herder developed. The definition most widely accepted by current scholars of the field is "artistic communication in small groups," coined by Dan Ben-Amos a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, and the term, and the associated field of study, now include non-verbal art forms and customary practices.

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Storytelling :: Performing Arts
Folklore :: Society and Culture

 
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NPR Topics: Politics & Society

New G.I. Bill Proposes 'Patriot Tax'
Thu, 15 May 2008 16:03:00 -0400
Congressional Democrats are pushing forward with plans for a new G.I. Bill to give veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan money to go to college for four years. House Democrats want to pay for it with what they've dubbed a "patriot tax" on people earning more than $500,000. In the Senate, one Republican who notably isn't on board is John McCain, a Vietnam veteran who says the proposal is too expensive and could encourage service members to leave the military.
California Court Strikes Down Gay Marriage Ban
Thu, 15 May 2008 16:00:00 -0400
The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry. The ruling overturns a California voter-approved law that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Calif. Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban
Thu, 15 May 2008 13:00:00 -0400
The justices announced the ruling Thursday. More challenges loom, however.

The Talk of the Town

Over Not Out
Hendrik Hertzberg Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 -0000
When the polls closed in Indiana and North Carolina last Tuesday evening, a lot of Barack Obama supporters braced themselves for bad news. Their candidate had just gone through a harrowing month, divided neatly in two by his thumping in the Pennsylvania primary. He had been repeatedly gored by a . . .
Mamet Talk
Lillian Ross Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 -0000
The playwright and screenwriter David Mamet was in town recently to talk about his new film, “Redbelt.” He sat patiently for an interview on a white wire chair in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art, one of his favorite haunts. He wore orange-rimmed glasses, a black . . .
Fly on the Wall
Adam Gopnik Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 -0000
Yasmina Reza, the French playwright (“Art,” among other works), was in town last week, talking about her newly translated book on Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President, entitled “Dawn Dusk or Night.” Sarkozy allowed Reza, a newcomer to political journalism, to trail his steps and record his words--hour by hour . . .

 
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American Folklife Center, Library of Congress - Created by Congress in 1976 to preserve and present American Folklife, the Center incorporates the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the Library in 1928 as a repository for American Folk Music.
Meta Description: [ The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress to "preserve and present" the great heritage of American folklife through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference service, live performance,... ]

Archer Taylor - Wolfgang Mieder's biographical sketch of the University of California Professor of Folklore Archer Taylor, and his work as a paremiologist--collector of proberbs.

Archives of Folklore Discussion List - Hosts a complete month-by-month record of all the posts made to the discussion-list, from 1990 to the present.

At the Edge: The Cosmic Mill - Article by Alby Stone discussing the hand-mill as an image of the cosmos.

British Columbia Folklore Society - A definition and explanation of folklore, with examples.
Meta Description: [ What is folklore? An explanation by the British Columbia Folklore Society, with examples. ]

D. L. Ashliman - Folklore researcher, providing extensive resources on Germanic myths, legends and sagas, and Indo-European folk and fairy tales.

Directory of Irish and Celtic Folklore - An A to Z of Irish Folkore, including seasonal celebrations, folktales, folk sayings, folk cures, leprechaun and fairy beliefs, and the origins of names.

404 Ethnologies - English-French bilingual journal disseminating knowledge about activities concerning folklore and ethnology, in Canada and elsewhere.

Family Folklore: How to Collect Your Own Family Folklore - Guide produced to accompany the exhibition The Grand Generation: Memory, Mastery, Legacy organized by the Smithsonian Institution.

Folk Beliefs in Modern Japan - E-text of the book edited by Inoue Nobutaka, Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University.

Folklore: An Introduction - Contains definitions, basic categories, and listings of subjects studied by folkloristics.

Folklore: an Online Electronic Journal - English-language archives of an informative Baltic Folklore journal published by the Folk Belief and Media Group of the Estonian Literary Museum. Material about Estonian shamanism, urban legends, ethnomusicology, popular calendar data, and general folk belief.

Journal of Folklore Research - A peer-reviewed publication of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University, established in 1965.
Meta Description: [ The Journal of Folklore Research is a peer-reviewed publication of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University. Established in 1965, JFR is dedicated to promoting international scholarly dialogue about the worldÕs traditional creative and expressive forms. ]

Latin-American Folklore Resources Online - Lengthy links-page from UCLA provides access to information about folkloric Latin American festivals, food, games, music, religion, and folktales.

Lucky W Amulet Archive - Encyclopedic resource describing and illustrating folkloric talismans and lucky charms from around the world, including horseshoe, swastika, four-leaf clover, rabbit foot, raccoon penis bone, hamsa hand, John the Conqueror root, scarab beetle, and black cat bone.
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New York Folklore Society - Definitions of folklore and the related terms folklife and folk arts.
Meta Description: [ There are lots of definitions of folklore and the related terms folklife and folk arts. Here are some definitions and explanations collected by the New York Folklore Society. ]

Paganism in British Folk Customs by Bob Trubshaw - Article that contrasts the true remains of Pagan origins in the folk customs of England with those customs created or exaggerated through paganisation by Victorian romantic authors.

Pro Ethnologia - Journal of the Estonian National Museum, publishing short articles on ethnographical issues. Content in Estonian and English.

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage - Focuses on contemporary grassroots cultures. Festival information, recordings, events, and resources.

The Folklore of the Isle of Man - Myths, legends, superstitions, customs and proverbs, by A. W. Moore (1891), e-text from a Manx Note Book.
Meta Description: [ Index - Folklore of the Isle of Man, A.W.Moore 1891 ]

404 The Hebridean Folklore Project - Run by volunteers to keep Scottish folklore alive and accessible, with the aim of relating Scottish culture around the world. Includes tales and photos.

Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland - Collected and arranged by Lady Augusta Gregory (1920), e-text from the Internet Sacred Text Archive.
Meta Description: [ Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland, by Lady Gregory, at sacred-texts.com ]

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