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Folklore is the discovery and understanding of everyday human culture: the patterns of ideas, behavior, music, dance, foodways, rituals, crafts, traditions, beliefs, lore, and customs of the everyday people that define our world. 

Folklore is a discipline which crosses cultural borders and ethnic boundaries. It seeks to define the place of cultures and ethnicities within the family of humankind as well as examine and document how they intersect and influence each other. It builds bridges of understanding and is critical to our appreciation of how the world works, and how we use traditional knowledge to meet new challenges.

Folklore students will gain fresh perspectives on the ethnic, regional, occupational, gender, and other identities of individuals in specific communities. Students gain knowledge and experience in cultural backgrounds, collection techniques, fieldwork and research, theoretical analysis, and text comprehension and writing.

Folklore touches on every aspect of human life: health and illness, cultural diversity, social and political movements, superstition and fears, the movement of information and disinformation, trends and memes, family and home life, educational systems, entertainment and creative arts, politics and government, fashion and design, gender and sexuality, events and festivals, and more. 

Training in folklore and folkloristic practices is useful in careers in the arts, public history, preservation, and museum stewardship, but also in health and medicine, social work, education, law, politics and intelligence, psychology, anthropology, marketing, the nonprofit sector, journalism, gaming, international business, tourism, and much more. 

How to Get in

Students must make an appointment with or email the undergraduate advisor to declare the certificate.

Requirements

A total of 12 credits to complete the Certificate, to include:1

Category A: Basics, Fieldwork, Documenting, and Preserving

One course and three credits are required, from:

FOLKLORE 100 Introduction to Folklore3
FOLKLORE/​AFROAMER/​AMER IND/​ASIAN AM/​CHICLA  102 Introduction to Comparative US Ethnic and American Indian Studies3
FOLKLORE/​GNS  200 Folklore of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe3
FOLKLORE 230 Introduction to American Folklore3
FOLKLORE 320 Folklore of Wisconsin3
FOLKLORE/​L I S  490 Field Methods and the Public Presentation of Folklore3
FOLKLORE 491 Practicum in Public Folklore1-3
FOLKLORE 510 3
FOLKLORE/​COM ARTS  522 Digital Storytelling for Social Media3

 Category B: Analysis and Focused Topics

One course and three credits are required, from:

FOLKLORE/​MUSIC  103 Introduction to Music Cultures of the World3
FOLKLORE/​RELIG ST  104 Sacred Places and Journeys3
FOLKLORE/​AFRICAN  210 The African Storyteller3
FOLKLORE/​ANTHRO/​INTL ST/​LINGUIS  211 Global Language Issues3
FOLKLORE 215 Elementary Topics in Folklore1-3
FOLKLORE 220 The Folk Tale3
FOLKLORE 225 Horror as Expressions of National Angst3
FOLKLORE/​MEDIEVAL/​SCAND ST  235 The World of Sagas3
FOLKLORE 315 Intermediate Topics in Folklore1-3
FOLKLORE 317 The Irish Tradition3
FOLKLORE/​AFROAMER/​ASIAN AM/​DANCE  319 Afro Asian Improv: From Hip Hop to Martial Arts Fusion3
FOLKLORE/​DANCE/​THEATRE  321 Javanese Performance2
FOLKLORE/​RELIG ST  326 The Supernatural in the Modern World3
FOLKLORE/​LITTRANS  327 Vampires3
FOLKLORE/​MEDIEVAL/​RELIG ST/​SCAND ST  342 Nordic Mythology3
FOLKLORE/​LITTRANS/​MEDIEVAL/​SCAND ST  345 The Nordic Storyteller3
FOLKLORE 346 3-4
FOLKLORE/​LITTRANS  347 In Translation: Kalevala and Finnish Folk-Lore3-4
FOLKLORE/​RELIG ST  352 Shamanism3
FOLKLORE/​RELIG ST  359 Myth3
FOLKLORE 399 Directed Study in Folklore for Undergraduates1-3
FOLKLORE/​MUSIC  402 Musical Cultures of the World3
FOLKLORE 415 Advanced Topics in Folklore1-3
FOLKLORE/​GEN&WS  428 Gender and Expressive Culture3
FOLKLORE 430 Topics in American Folklore: Ethnic Studies3-6
FOLKLORE/​AMER IND/​ANTHRO  431 American Indian Folklore3
FOLKLORE/​AMER IND/​ANTHRO/​GEN&WS  437 American Indian Women3
FOLKLORE 439 Foodways3
FOLKLORE/​SCAND ST  440 Scandinavian American Folklore3
FOLKLORE/​SCAND ST  443 Sami Culture, Yesterday and Today4
FOLKLORE/​SLAVIC  444 Slavic and East European Folklore3
FOLKLORE/​MEDIEVAL/​SCAND ST  446 Celtic-Scandinavian Cultural Interrelations3
FOLKLORE 460 Folk Epics3
FOLKLORE 467 3
FOLKLORE 468 3
FOLKLORE 491 Practicum in Public Folklore1-3
FOLKLORE/​MUSIC  515 Proseminar in Ethnomusicology3
FOLKLORE/​MUSIC  516 Ethnographic Methods for Music and Sound3
FOLKLORE 518 3
FOLKLORE/​ANTHRO  520 Ethnic Representations in Wisconsin4
FOLKLORE 530 Topics in Folklore1-3
FOLKLORE 540 Local Culture and Identity in the Upper Midwest3
ANTHRO 237 Cut 'n' Mix: Music, Race, and Culture in the Caribbean3
ANTHRO/​LINGUIS  430 Language and Culture3-4
ANTHRO 460 The Anthropology of Dance: Movement and Music in Performance3
GNS/​ENVIR ST  210 Cultures of Sustainability: Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe3

Residence and Quality of Work

  • A minimum of 6 certificate credits must be taken in residence
  • 2.000 GPA in all courses eligible for the certificate
1

 Courses taken on a Pass/Fail grading basis are not eligible, and do not count, in the Certificate.

Certificate Completion Requirement

This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student’s undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Demonstrate skill in the methods and productions folklorists employ in their work.
  2. Analyze the connections between expressive performances and the wider workings of culture.
  3. Apply and engage in ethical considerations in research and collaborative practice, particularly with reference to cultural, economic, religious, ethnic, and gender diversity.

Advising and Careers

Students should contact the undergraduate advisor to declare the certificate.

Joanna Schuth, Undergraduate Advisor
jschuth@wisc.edu
Make an appointment through Starfish


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