Folklore Undergraduate Course Descriptions 

ENG/HIST/ANTH 2210 Introduction to Folklore (Rezai)

Folklore is the culture that people make for themselves. It is cherished by families, shared among co-workers, danced on the streets by unruly young people, and circulated on the internet. In this course, we will look at the concept of folklore as emergent and dynamic and as an integral part of our daily lives. We will study verbal, customary, and material forms of folklore with an emphasis on contemporary examples. These will include campus traditions, supernatural and urban legends, personal narratives, food traditions, occupational lore, and digital forms of folklore such as internet memes. Students will learn to think critically about their own and others' folk culture and analyze what folklore can tell us about contemporary issues, concerns, and values. Online.

ENG/HIST/ANTH 2210 Introduction to Folklore (Thomas)

This course explores basic folklore concepts and genres. We focus on the following topics:

  • Supernatural Legends: Why do we tell scary stories and visit the sites associated with them? What makes ghost hunting fun and profitable?
  • Digital Folklore: What are some patterns behind successful memes? How do you quickly and accurately spot a conspiracy theory in the wild?
  • Material Culture: What do hogans, shotgun houses, porches, and food storage rooms tell us about culture and history?
  • Personal Experience Narratives: How can personal narratives help us counter “assault by info,” and what do podcasts have to do with it?
  • Roots Music Genres: What are examples of community-based music? What don’t we know about where our favorite music originated? Hybrid. Logan.

ENG/HIST/ANTH 2210 Introduction to Folklore (Gabbert)

This class is an introduction to exciting and wonderful world of folklore and the discipline of folkloristics. Folkloristics is the study of stories, songs, sayings, legends, folk beliefs, and other aspects of traditional culture. We will concentrate on materials from Europe, but we also will explore a bit of the Himalayas and Japan. Materials include European folk tales, ritual women’s tales, legends about giants, and Japanese Yōkai. Our goal is to learn about and interpret traditional cultural materials using a variety of approaches. Online.

ENG/HIST/ANTH 2720 Survey of American Folklore (Estiri)

In this course, we will investigate the concept of folklore and review unofficial cultures in the US. We study the unofficial folkloric practices as emergent and dynamic—as an integral part of our day-to-day lives. We will explore different forms of vernacular culture in the US, including oral/verbal, customary, and material folklore, and consider various interpretive and theoretical approaches to the examples of folk culture. We will particularly explore contemporary forms of folklore, including urban/supernatural legends, personal narratives, jokes, food traditions and celebrations, occupational folklore, folk art, and digital forms of folklore, such as internet memes. Online.


ENG/HIST 3700 Regional Folklore (Thomas)

This course explores the significance and functions of regional folklore and folklife via the following subjects:

  • Campus Traditions (USU and elsewhere): Do you know your true Aggies from your dam Aggies from your Ultimate Aggies?
  • Regional Foodways: Why is Utah the epicenter of the dirty soda? Why is green bean casserole even a thing? What is the cultural relevance of funeral potatoes and fry sauce?
  • Magical and Otherworldly Places: If you were a unicorn or Bigfoot, where would you hang and why?
  • Indigenous Perspectives on Region: How can traditional, Indigenous stories and customs help us learn new things about place? What are Skywoman and strawberries trying to tell us? Hybrid. Logan.

ENG/HIST 3700 Regional Folklore (Estiri)

This course orients students to the folklore and folkloric practices of the Middle East. Material to be examined will be diverse across genres and drawn from various ethnic, national, and temporal spheres. Folklore is not necessarily ancient and historical, and there will be an emphasis on Middle Eastern contemporary life. In this course, folklore is conceptualized as everyday life expressive culture, including verbal arts, texts, performative activities, and material culture. Though this is not a theory course, students will gain an attenuated background in folklore studies that includes the history and development of the discipline, its various methods, and contemporary scholarly conversations. Online.

ENG/HIST/ANTH/RELS 3710 Topics in Folklore (Gabbert)

This course examines the relationship between monsters and festivity. Monsters are commonly encountered and studied in literature, horror films, and other media (such as the internet), but in this class we investigate them where people physically encounter them most: festivals. What is the relationship between monsters and festivals? Why are monsters associated with festivals? We will consider the meanings, functions, and symbolism that underlie these questions. Hybrid. Logan.