![Mass-Cultural
Dorson describes the Mass-Cultural folklorist as “enlist[ing]
psychological concepts of child development, sociological concepts of
small group behavior, ethnomusicological concepts of music as social
expression, literary concepts of folklore as rhetorical discourse, and
folkloric concepts of the oikotype or regional genres.” The Mass-
Cultural folklorist is interested the contemporary community and looks
for continuity and change from past to present, rather than the
preservation of relics and archaisms.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/theoryoverview-130507170453-phpapp01/85/Theory-overview-13-320.jpg)
Theory overview
- 1. Folklore Theory An Overview of Methods of Analysis and Ethnography Presented by Victoria Harkavy
- 2. Tale and Motif Type "Have a behavioral basis in...human beings' need...to generate and respond conceptually to memorable experiences and events" (Georges, 206) "Content-based classification schemes...mirror the ways human beings conceptualize the stories they tell each other" (207)
- 3. Tale and Motif Type cont. A tale type is "a specific binding together of motifs" that is distinctive from other tale types, and can be manifested in multiple tales. A motif is "the smallest element of a tale having the power to persist in tradition." (Dundes, after Thompson and Honti, 195-6)
- 4. Historical-Geographic aka The Finnish School Scholars attempt to find as many examples of a given tale type as possible Based on date of recording and statistics of occurrence of certain terms, scholars posit an Ur- text and routes of transmission
- 5. Historical Reconstructional The school favored by the Grimms Theorizes that current folk practice can reveal information about past practice and vice versa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_Grimm
- 6. Ideological Dorson largely equates ideological folklore to nationalist folklore. Largely inspired by Herder's Romantic Nationalism, folklorists search for the "soul of the people" http://tartan.wsu.edu/what-is-a-tartan.html
- 7. Functional Scholars investigate how folklore maintains social institutions Folklore can provide precedents for decisions, a sanctioned space for dissent, and reinforcement of important taboos and responsibilities. http://www.bloggingtips.com/2007/10/25/whats-your-story-storytelling-is-powerful-blogging/
- 8. Psycho- analytical Scholars use the theories of Freud and Jung to interpret folk literature Tales and myths are treated as expressions of the unconscious mind Strong tendency to see sexual imagery within texts http://loomings-jay.blogspot.com/2010/10/sigmund-freud.html
- 9. Structural Vladimir Propp is considered the founder of this method of analysis. Characterizes tale types by the actions, or functions of the characters, not by the form the characters take. Levi-Strauss theorized that "myths" are based around opposing dualities and mirror the logical structure found universally within the human mind.
- 10. Oral-Formulaic Based on Lord and Parry’s work with Guslars, Serbian bards, Oral-Formulaic theory sees folk literature as works combining tradition and invention. A performer may draw on and recombine traditional motifs and plot lines to create as he performs. http://babamim.com/role_of_the_gusle_guslar
- 11. Cross-Cultural The Cross-Cultural folklorist may look to folklore for survivals of primitive beliefs that link cultures to common origins or intrinsic human thought patterns/experiences Some folklorists, such as Alan Lomax, see folklore as part of a taxonomy of cultures, seeing connections between types of social structures and the folklore they generally produce.
- 12. Folk-Cultural This may be seen as the movement toward “Folklife” rather than “Folklore” Folk-Cultural scholars see lore (folk literature) as an integrated part of a culture that also includes rituals, dance and music, methods of production, and family and social structure The totality of folklife is necessary for insight into folklore and vice versa.
- 13. Mass-Cultural Dorson describes the Mass-Cultural folklorist as “enlist[ing] psychological concepts of child development, sociological concepts of small group behavior, ethnomusicological concepts of music as social expression, literary concepts of folklore as rhetorical discourse, and folkloric concepts of the oikotype or regional genres.” The Mass- Cultural folklorist is interested the contemporary community and looks for continuity and change from past to present, rather than the preservation of relics and archaisms.
- 14. Contextual Some scholars argue that a folklore text cannot be understood outside the context of its performance. Knowing the occasion, the audience, the venue, and other aspects of the performance are critical because the storyteller is influenced by all of these things in crafting their text. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/1-textiles-spinning-wheel-granger.html
- 15. Dorson, Richard. 1972. Introduction: concepts of folklore and folklife studies. In Folklore and folklife: an introduction, ed. R. Dorson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Dundes, Alan. The Motif-Index and the Tale Type Index: a critique. Journal of Folklore Research 34, 3: 195-202. Georges, Robert A. The centrality in folkloristics of motif and tale type. Journal of Folklore Research 34, 3: 203-208. Propp, Vladimir. 1968. Morphology of the folktale. 2nd ed. Translated by Laurence Scott. Revised and Edited by Louis A. Wagner. Austin: University of Texas Press. Reference List