Courses and requirements

Overview

You are required to complete a minimum of 30 credits (including thesis credits) for the Master of Arts or the Master of Science degree in English specialization in Folklore.

• Your Program of Study must include both foundation courses (ENGL/HIST 6700: Introduction to Folklore Studies and ENGL/HIST 6720: Oral History and Fieldwork); 4 courses from the list of Folklore electives (refer below); and 3 open elective courses (if you do a Plan B thesis project) or 2 open elective courses (if you do a Plan A thesis project).
• You must complete a thesis project of which there are two options:
• Plan A thesis project: a critical study of 50–100 pages in length that involves 3 additional credits of thesis and one fewer seminar.
• Plan B thesis project: a scholarly exploration of an applicable topic that may come in a variety of forms, equivalent of 30–50 pages of writing.

The Folklore Studies program strongly encourages students to complete a Plan B thesis.

Coursework 

The Folklore specialization is interdisciplinary, and courses are typically cross-listed with History. Students in the Folklore emphasis must complete 30 credits that meet the following requirements:

FOUNDATION COURSES: 6 CREDITS (2 COURSES)

ENGL/HIST 6700: Introduction to Folklore Studies
Introduces students to the field of folklore, including the history of the discipline, central arguments, terms, and concepts, and research methods.

ENGL/HIST 6720: Oral History and Fieldwork
Basic methodology class for folklorists and oral historians. Students learn interviewing techniques and other methods for observing and recording the performance of tradition and traditional history.

FOLKLORE ELECTIVE COURSES: 9 CREDITS (3 COURSES)

Students may choose any of the following folklore courses, depending on course offerings:

ENGL/HIST 6710: Space, Place, and Folklore
Study of expressive culture in relation to space and place in social theory. Perspectives range from ideas about landscape and region to globalization.

ENGL/HIST 6740: Folk Narrative
Covers principal narrative genres in folk tradition (myth, tale, legend, ballad) and the basic theories for their analysis and discussion.

ENGL 6750: Advanced Folklore Workshop: Fife Conference
Intensive, one-week summer workshop where class meets all day. Topics vary.

ENGL/HIST 6760 Folk Art and Material Culture
Covers the history of the idea of folk art, contemporary and established questions pertaining to vernacular production, and an exploration and analysis of actual objects in relation to theory.

ENGL/HIST 6770 Seminar in Folklore and Folklife
Topics vary, covering close, professional-level study of major areas of folklore and folklife research. Past seminars have included “Folklore and Work,” “Legend and the Supernatural,” and “Folklore and the Internet.”  “Digital Folklore” is the course most commonly offered under this number.

ENGL/HIST 6900 Graduate Internship
Students are encouraged to participate in a formal internship to fine tune their academic and professional skills. Internships are arranged on an individual basis; recent interns have spent their summers at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. All internships must meet internship requirements of 150-200 hours for 3 graduate credits and must be pre-approved by the Program Director.

OPEN ELECTIVE COURSES: 9-12 CREDITS, DEPENDING ON THESIS OPTION (3-4 COURSES)

For electives, students may choose any graduate courses offered within the English dept., including folklore classes. Students who decide to complete a Plan B thesis will take 9 credits of open elective courses (3 courses). Students who decide to complete a Plan A thesis will take 6 credits of open elective courses (2 courses).

THESIS CREDITS: 3-6 CREDITS, DEPENDING ON THESIS OPTION

Students must choose to complete either a Plan A or a Plan B thesis. Students who decide to complete a Plan B thesis are required to register for 3 credits of thesis work. Students who decide to complete a Plan A thesis are required to register for 6 credits of thesis work.

The Folklore Studies program strongly encourages students to complete a Plan B thesis.

Plan B: For a Plan B thesis, students are required to write a single research paper that is modeled on a publishable journal article. For the Folklore Studies program, the minimum page requirement for a Plan B thesis is 25 pages, although most tend to be 30-50 pages. The length of a Plan B thesis will be set at the discretion of the thesis committee chair.

Plan A: For a Plan A thesis, students will write an extensive research project that consists of several chapters. For the Folklore Studies program, a Plan A thesis must be a minimum of 50 pages, although most tend to be 50-100 pages. The length of a Plan A thesis will be set at the discretion of the thesis committee chair.

NOTE: If you would like to complete a Plan A thesis, you must complete your thesis proposal defense by April 15 during your second semester in the program. If you do not complete a thesis proposal defense by this date, you will not be eligible to complete a Plan A thesis and must complete a Plan B thesis instead.