Introduction

British anthropologist E.B. Tylor once said that culture is "a whole way of life", requiring its members to learn how to live within society. Culture, as a whole, is learned, and the process by which this happens is called "enculturation". This concept is key in understanding folklore because it provides a vehicle for the continuation of the folk way of life.

Throughout time, societies have, perhaps unknowingly, been members of a number of folk groups. Each group may have certain traditions, stories, songs, games or jokes which are a part of their "socialization" process; in other words, the way people become social, especially within a certain group or society. These songs and stories are all part of folklore, and they tell social scientists, or folklorists, very important information about the group which they have come from. For example, blues music, a form of the spiritual in the African American community, is a highly developed form of the socialization process, with its roots in folklore. Many of the beats and lyrics used in blues have come from the songs sung by slaves. African Americans are a very large folk group, who have developed their music, speech and culture into a highly complex and very interesting form of folk expression.

Three key terms in defining folklore and its significance are text, context and texture. In analyzing folklore all three of these concepts must be considered, especially in fieldwork and ethnography. Texture deals with how the item of folklore is presented, mostly having to do with language. For example, in a wall of graffiti, the texture would be dealing with how the mural feels, what colors are used, (including how bright, and how intense the colors are), as well as the "motifs" involved. Motifs are patterns which repeat themselves in folklore, mainly to make a strong point, or to tie items together.

The text of a piece of folklore is the item itself, and what it says. For instance, in a chain-letter warning of imminent disaster if it is not sent on to 25 people within 10 days, the letter itself would be the text. When actually documenting the text of a piece of folklore, great care must be taken in accurately describing or collecting the data, as to preserve not only the dignity of the item, but also for correct and concise analysis.

Finally, the context of an item of folklore can be examined. Context is difficult to describe, because it must be looked at from a number of points of view. When an item of folklore is investigated, the context is the situation which is happening while the item is being displayed. For instance, when someone is telling a scary ghost story the context is imperative. If you tell about a spirit living in the attic of a house while in a brightly lit area, in the middle of the day, chances are that the context has been spoiled. However, if the tale is told during a thunderstorm, in an old creepy attic, the item of folklore has so much more meaning. Context is highly important to the passing on of folklore, therefore it must be carefully documented when conducting fieldwork.

These definitions, as well as many others are important to the study of folklore, especially when dealing with different genres. The genres of folklore are nearly endless, and include, but are not limited to: myths, legends, folktales, personal narratives, music, art, and most recently computer-lore. In my senior project I hope to include as many genres as possible, in order to gain a greater understanding of folklore and how it is a highly important factor in the human socialization process.

This is a link to a comprehensive web site about urban legends and folklore, which includes other links to related pages: About Urban Legends

Proposal

My senior project will consist of a number of smaller items of folklore, such as narratives, ghost stories and urban legends. As I begin my research the exact perimeters of my fieldwork and analysis will become more defined. The final project will take the form of a paper, which will be displayed on the World Wide Web, and will include photographs and pictures (where applicable), text not only describing in detail the data itself, but also analysis of the items of folklore and how they are significant to folkgroups as well as society as a whole.

I hope to be able to record many of my conversations (if possible) with interviewees, and to put portions of the interviews on the web for others to listen to. This may be highly important to the context as well as the texture of many of the items which I collect. By doing this I will be able to give a better and more accurate picture of certain pieces of folklore, thus allowing my analysis to be much more accurate.

As the Spring semester progresses, I plan to meet with Dave Woodward in order to keep my progress in check, as well as compare ideas and analysis of what I have collected. Throughout my research I plan on, whenever possible, comparing and contrasting what I have found with other documented items of folklore which are the same or at least similar to what I have found. My fieldwork will mostly consist of simply asking around about anything of interest. Many times, once the conversation is started with one person, others will begin chiming in, and soon you are immersed in a virtual plethora of folklore data, just waiting to be analyzed.

Please allow me to begin my research, analysis and web presentation which will conclude at the end of Spring semester, 2000.