Discussion 1- define Folklore
After this class period, please read pages 3-33 in The Study of American Folklore. For those of you still waiting on the book, please look at the slideshows posted under this module. They offer some important quotes from the textbook and some points that you can look up online to help you complete this assignment.
With the information from these pages, please continue to create your own definition of folklore and post about 300-600 words discussing your findings. We will be working with many forms of folklore throughout this quarter and there’s no one accepted definition, so understanding our own definitions of the term will be very important. Please consider discussing the following:
-What are the different sources the textbook uses to build a definition?
-Why do you think the textbook does not just use the dictionary and settle on that single definition?
-Why are several sources important in defining the term?
-How has this section influenced your understanding of the term?
-What complications become apparent while trying to define folklore?
-What is fakelore? Do you agree with the book’s interpretation of it (can fakelore ever be considered folklore)?
-What is metafolklore?
-If you were to go further, how would you define myths, legends, and folktales? They will be our main focus this quarter, and we will work on their definitions more thoroughly, but a slight definition will be an advantage.
-You do not need to answer all of these questions, and you may discuss any other ideas you find related.
