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One of the best known explanations of folklore is found in Alan Dundes’ brief essay, “What Is Folklore?” Dundes disputes the notion that “folk” should be automatically identified with peasant or rural groups, or with people from the past. He argues that contemporary urban people also have folklore and suggests that rather than dying out, folklore is constantly being created and recreated to suit new situations (Dundes, 1965: 2).
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What is folklore?

Defining Folklore

One of the best known explanations of folklore is found in Alan Dundes’ brief essay, “What Is Folklore?” Dundes disputes the notion that “folk” should be automatically identified with peasant or rural groups, or with people from the past. He argues that contemporary urban people also have folklore and suggests that rather than dying out, folklore is constantly being created and recreated to suit new situations (Dundes, 1965: 2).

Dundes asserts that “folk” can refer to “any group of people whatsoever who share at least one common factor. It does not matter what the linking factor is-it could be a common occupation, language, or religion-but what is important is that a group…have some traditions that it calls its own” (Dundes, 1965: 2).

Rather than offering a definition of folklore, Dundes provides a list of various types of folklore to demonstrate the large range of the field of study. His list includes the expected subjects of folktales, legends, myths, ballads, festivals, folk dance and song, but also offers examples of folklore that may not be as obvious, such as children’s counting out rhymes, food recipes, house, barn and fence types, latrinalia (informal writings in public restrooms), as well as the sounds traditionally used to call specific animals. Dundes stresses that his list is not exhaustive, but merely a sampling of the subjects that folklore scholarship can address, and which merit study for the insight that they provide into specific cultures (Dundes, 1965: 3).

Genres of Folklore

Material culture:folk art, vernacular architecture, textiles, modified mass-produced objectsMusic: traditional, folk, and world musicNarrative: legends, urban legends, fairy tales, folk tales, personal experience narrativesVerbal art: jokes, proverbs, word gamesBelief and religion: folk religion, ritual, and mythologyFoodways: traditional cooking and customs, relationships between food and culture

Folklore as an Academic Discipline

Folklorists focus on the study of human creativity within specific cultural and social contexts, including how such expressions (i.e. stories, music, material culture and festivals) are linked to political, religious, ethnic, regional, and other forms of group identity.

Suggested Books and Articles about Folklore and Folk Groups

398.03 F719 SSHEL StacksBauman, Richard (ed.). 1992. Folklore, Cultural Performances, and Popular Entertainments: A Communications-centered Handbook. New York: Oxford University Press.

398 D73FO Main StacksDorson, Richard (ed.). 1972. Folklore and Folklife, An Introduction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

398 D91s Main Stacks and Oak StreetDundes, Alan. 1965. The Study of Folklore. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.

GR66 .D87 1980 Main StacksDundes, Alan. 1980. “Who Are the Folk?” In Interpreting Folklore. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

398.05 JF Main Stacks, Literature and Languages Reference, OnlineNoyes, Dorothy. 1995. “Group.” Journal of American Folklore . 108 (430): 449-478.

398 F7183 Oak StreetOring. Elliott. 1986. Folk Groups and Folklore Genres: An Introduction. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press.

Websites Defining Folklore

Folklore Wiki (American Folklore Society)This site contains collective contributions from members of the American Folklore Society and others in the folklore community. Includes an “About Folklore” section that provides citations and quotes of folklore definitions from a variety of authoritative sources, including the International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Journal of American Folklore. Other sections of the wiki provide information about Folklore Studies programs, bibliographies of folklore publications, and links to research resources for folklorists.

New York Folklore SocietyProvides some useful definitions and examples of folklore in modern contexts drawing for folklore scholars and documentation of community folklore by public folklorists.

4 Related questions Answers found

What are 5 types of folktales

with the money for variant types and next type of the books to browse. The all right book, fiction, history, novel, scientific research, as without difficulty as various additional sorts of books are readily user-friendly here. As this aj greimas and the nature of meaning linguistics semiotics and discourse theory critics of the twentieth

What are some examples of folklore

Talking Mule Even mules deserve a day off now and then. ... Tall Ted's Turtles Tall Ted came to town with a tank full of turtles! Teething Toy What would you give your baby to teeth on if you lived in Deadwood, South Dakota? Telltale Seaweed An overnight stay in an abandoned Cape Cod house reveals a ghost. ... More items...

What are some folklore genres

Some Genres: Ballad, Childlore, Childrens' Street Culture. A Ballad, in folklore, can be story told literally through song, a spoken tale which relies on a definite and palpable rhythm, a tale told in formal stanzas of lyrical ballad poetry, or a combination of these.. Childlore: child-play, songs, dance, mime, and storytelling, and combinations of these things - primarily enacted by young ...

What is folklore and examples

What is folklore? Defining Folklore. One of the best known explanations of folklore is found in Alan Dundes’ brief essay, “What Is Folklore?” Genres of Folklore Folklore as an Academic Discipline. ... Suggested Books and Articles about Folklore and Folk Groups. ... Websites Defining Folklore. ...