ENG 4633 - Material Folk Culture
Spring 1998 TR 9:30-10:45, Wilson 303
Instructor: Richard Burns
Office: Wilson 213
Office Hours: TR 8:30-9:30 AM, 2-2:45 PM, or by appointment
Phone: 972-3043

Course Description:
The analysis and interpretation of traditional skills, services, and art/craft objects in folk societies. Students will conduct folklife research.

Textbooks:
Michael D. Hall and Eugene W. Metcalf, Jr., eds. The Artist Outsider: Creativity and the Boundaries of Culture. Washington: Smithsoniam Institution Press, 1994.
Henry Glassie. Pattern in the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1972.

Course Outline:(subject to modification)

Jan. 6-8: Course Intro./Overview: Basic Concepts, Definitions. Pattern of the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States, pp. 1-17.
13-15: Regional Patterns: Pattern of the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States, pp 33-158.
20-22: Subregions: Pattern of the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States, pp. 159-184; discussion of short paper based on interview.
27-29: Craft: Natural into Cultural. Handout--Xeroxed chapter from James Hoopes, "Culture," in Oral History: An Introduction for Students; Pattern of the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States, pp. 184-201.
Feb. 3-5: Pattern of the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States, pp. 201-241. 10-12: Context and Craft: Villages, Cities, and Homes; Handout--Xeroxed article by Vlach, "Arrival and Survival: The Maintenance of An Afro-American Tradition in Folk Art and Craft."
17: Mid-Term Exam
19: Craft: Creativity and Function Short paper based on interview due at beginning of class.
24-26: Craft: Creativity and Function--handicrafts and the rural-urban dichotomy; tradition vs. innovation. Film: The Oral Historian's Work
Mar. 3: Craft: Creativity and Function--consuming things; foodways and material folk culture
5: Craft: Creativity and Function (continued)--Presentation/sharing of field research, possible informants, etc. By now, everyone should have research topics and possible working bibliographies.
7: Discussion of 150-word description of research project (with working bibliography).
12: Discussion of research projects; presentation of research in the Arkansas Delta; trip to ASU's museum.
17-19: Spring Break.
24: Dilemmas in Fieldwork--Fieldwork progress, discussion of projects, etc.
26: 150-word description of research paper due at beginning of class, March 26. Dilemmas in Fieldwork (continued).
31: Folk Art: Self-Expression, Tradition, or What? The Artist Outsider, pp. 3-18.
Apr. 2: Folk Art: A Definition? The Artist Outsider, pp. 21-61.
7: Folk Art and Self-Taught Art, The Artist Outsider, pp. 125-142.
9: Folk Art and Outsider Art: A Folklorist's Perspective, The Artist Outsider, pp. 145-159.
14: Folk Art and Outsider Art; The Artist Outsider, pp. 213-272.
16: Delta Studies Symposium IV (attend at least one lecture by a featured speaker or attend a paper session).
21: Artisans--case studies 291-310.
23: Artisans--case studies 313-347.
28: Research papers due at beginning of class, April 28th. Researching Material Folk Culture in the Modern American City.
May 5: FINAL EXAM: 8-10 AM, W303

Course Requirements: Two in-class examinations (a mid-term and final), each worth approximately 25% of your final grade; a 2-3 page typed, double-spaced paper based on an interview of an elderly person who is at least seventy years old, worth approximately 20% of your final grade; and a report based on folklife research you conduct this semester, worth approximately 30% of your final grade. Required readings must be completed by the dates listed on the calendar. You are also responsible for any materials distributed in class or covered in lectures and class discussions. The final examination is required to pass the course.

Attendance: The policies of ASU state that class attendance is mandatory and habitual tardiness is unacceptable. If you are unavoidably absent, you are responsible for any information or materials covered during that session. If you miss more than eight class meetings during the semester, I reserve the right to lower your final grade by one letter. If you are absent during an exam, you must have a verifiable justifiable excuse and you must take a make-up within one week upon your return. Written work must be completed and handed to me no later that the beginning of class on the due date. Late work will receive one grade lower for each day past the due date. Attendance is extremely critical in performing well in this course.