Spring 2006
University of Toronto
MW 2-3PM, Carr Hall Room 107
Dr. Tiina Kirss
Assistant Professor, Estonian Studies
109N Munk Centre for International Studies
Office telephone 416-946-8945
E-mail: tiina.kirss@utoronto.ca
Office Hours: Thursdays 10-11AM and by appointment
An introduction to the folklore of the Finno-Ugric and Latvian peoples (folk song, folktale, fairy tale, folk humour, proverb), which is rooted in the material culture and lifeworld of these cultures. Though our primary focus will be on texts, which are spoken, written, and sung, we should not forget that folklore is made with the hands, as objects of everyday use are adorned to tell their own stories, and acted out communally in ritual. Folklore being vitally related to the making of histories and nations, we will also take an intensive look at the writing of national epics in the 19th century. Topics of discussion include the folk calendar, rituals, folk religion, and the use of folkloric materials in 20th century art and music. Instruction is in the form of lecture-discussion, supplemented by guest lectures and the occasional short excursion.
All readings are in English. No knowledge of Finno-Ugric or Baltic languages is required, though it would be a welcome asset in enriching your enjoyment of the texts. All required readings will be in a course reader available for purchase at a local copy shop. Any additional materials will be distributed in class or placed on reserve in the Trinity College Library. The course website is updated throughout the semester. Students should expect to use it regularly.
Regular attendance at lecture-discussions will be expected. Many visual and musical materials will not be accessible otherwise. If excursions are scheduled for a class period, you will be expected to attend them. Out-of-class-time excursions will be considered optional, though highly recommended. The course grade will have three components, weighted equally
• Weekly writing assignments or short field exercises. These will involve short responses in the form of questions to the reading material, or to a visual or musical texts available on the internet. Specific details will be given for each assignment. Doing this interactive assignment, which will take about one hour, will enable effective preparation for class discussion. Assignments will be collected and receive written feedback.
• Short Essay (4-6 pp) due at midterm (exact date to be specified), in which your task will be linking an assigned folkloric text of your choice to one of the assigned theoretical readings.
• Course Essay (10-12 pp) due at end of course. A longer expository- analytical essay on a topic chosen from a list to be distributed, which will require interpretation of a folkloric text (or text with “folkloric roots”) with shrewd attention to pertinent elements of cultural context, genre, and reception. This assignment will require limited secondary readings, and scholarly apparatus in the form of footnotes and bibliography.
• Grading distribution: 25% short essay, 25% weekly writings, 50% longer essay;
This “bare-bones” calendar will be supplemented shortly by a more detailed syllabus as soon as class excursions and speakers become clear.
Week of 9 January: Introduction to the course
Creation Myths and Cosmology; What is folklore,and how do we study it?;
Linguistic and historical background on the Finno-Ugric and Baltic Peoples; cosmology and folk religion.
Week of 16 January: Time and its Guises: The Agrarian Way of Life and the Folk Calendar
Week of 23 January: The Folk Song: Runolaul (regilaul, rahvalaul), Dainas. Thematic Repertoire, forms, social context
Week of 30 January: The Life Cycle in Folk Songs: Betrothings, Weddings and Birthings
Week of 6 February: The Visual Language of Patterns: Do Mittens speak Cosmically?
Week of 13 February: From Folk Tale to Fairy Tale (including the very weird)
Week of 20 February: NO CLASSES - READING WEEK
Week of 27 February: Laughter and Trickery in Folklore and its short forms: Proverbs, Riddles, Humour
DUE DATE: SHORT PAPER
Week of 6 March: Oral Storytelling and Epic Poetry
Week of 13 March: War, Death, and Dying
Week of 20 March: Folklore and Trauma
Week of 3 April: “Ethnofuturism” - folklore as a nourishing medium for the arts
Week of 10 March: Music, Art, and Popular Culture: how long are “folkloric roots” and what are the risks of their disappearance: cultural memory and the perseverance of tradition