Folklore
| Administrative Unit: | Folklore Program |
| College/School: | College of Letters and Science |
Faculty: Professors DuBois (director), Anderson, Atis, George, Gordon, Leary, Narayan, Niles, Radano, Rao, Scheub, Sutton, Wolf; Associate Professors Schenck, Valentine; Assistant Professors Garlough, Gilmore, Howard; Faculty Associate Olson; Associate Lecturer Choy; Lecturer Mellor
Overview
Folklore is a multidisciplinary field of study concerned with the documentation and analysis of verbal, customary, musical, material, and performance traditions, primarily as they are sustained, revived, modified, invented by artists, educators, entrepreneurs, activists, communities, and states. The Folklore Program offers courses on folklore forms, practitioners, performances, theory, methods, and public presentation, with an emphasis on cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approaches. Graduate students interested in folklore as an area of concentration typically major in an arts, humanities, or social science discipline, while specializing in a particular language and culture area.
A separate graduate degree in folklore is not offered at this time; however, graduate students admitted by another major program may pursue either a minor in folklore or, once they have earned an M.A. in their program, a "special committee" Ph.D.
Ph.D. Minor
Students interested in a Ph.D. minor in folklore may either select an Option A folklore minor or develop an Option B distributed minor with course work in folklore and at least one other program. Students choosing an Option A minor select an advisor from the program's faculty, in consultation with the director of the program. Students are expected to achieve a B or better in four Folklore Program courses at the 300 level or above. One course must be selected from the following courses in theory, history, or methodology of folklore: 410, 490, 510. Three additional courses may be selected from these and other courses at the 300 level or above.
Students interested in the special committee Ph.D. should consult with the director of the program.
For more information: Folklore Program, 305 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706; 608-265-3514; folklore@mailplus.wisc.edu; folklore.wisc.edu.