Table Of ContentLiving
Folklor
An Introduction
to the Study of People
and Their Traditions
Martha C. Sims
Martine Stephens
Living Folklore
Living Folklore
An Introduction to the Study of People
and Their Traditions
Martha C. Sims
The Ohio State University
Martine Stephens
Ohio Wesleyan University
Utah State University Press / Logan, Utah
Utah State University Press
Logan, Utah 84322-7800
© 2005 Utah State University Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover design by Barbara Yale-Read
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 0-87421-611-7
Sims, Martha C., 1963-
Living folklore : an introduction to the study of people and their traditions / Martha C. Sims,
Martine Stephens.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87421-611-7 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Folklore--Methodology. 2. Folklore--Field work. 3. Folklore--Performance. 4. Manners and
customs. 5.
Rites and ceremonies. I. Stephens, Martine, 1959- II. Title.
GR45.S56 2005
398’.072--dc22
2005011837
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
1 Folklore 1
What is folklore? 1
A working defi nition 1
Scholarly defi nitions of folklore 8
Genres of folklore 12
Defi ning folklore beyond genre labels: texts and contexts 19
A brief history of folklore study 21
2 Groups 30
What is a folk group? 31
Defi nitions 34
How folk groups form 38
Self-identifi cation and group membership 41
Family, schol and ocupational groups 4
Family 45
Schol groups 47
Ocupational groups 50
Example: folklore in the music store 53
Groups and belief 56
Example: belief and contemporary legends 60
3 Tradition 64
What is tradition? 64
Tradition is both lore and proces 65
Tradition helps to create and confi rm a sense of identity 66
Identifi ed as a tradition by the community 68
How do people learn and share traditions? 68
Example: tradition in our daily lives 72
Do traditions disapear? 74
Dynamic and conservative elements of tradition 76
Inventing tradition 82
The question of authenticity 84
Example: traditions in folk art 87
4 Ritual 94
What is ritual? 95
Low-context and high-context rituals 98
Invented ritual 9
The question of belief in sacred and secular rituals 102
Liminality and ritual space 105
Types of rituals 10
Rites of pasage 111
Coming of age rituals 114
Initiation rituals 119
Naming rituals 120
Example: rituals and private and public identity 121
5 Performance 127
What is performance? 128
Example: a proverbial performance 129
The study of performance 133
Performance texts 134
Texture 136
Context 137
Physical context 138
Social context 139
Recognizing texts in context: performance markers/framing 141
Refl exivity 14
Emergence 146
Folklore that pushes the boundaries 150
Example: performance that transcends roles and rules 152
Aesthetics 15
Critic v. group consensus 157
Traditionality 157
Skil 159
Practicality 161
The nature of aesthetic response 162
Personal narative in performance 167
Example: A Personal Narrative Emerges 170
6 Approaches to interpreting folklore 174
Functionalism 174
Structuralism 179
Psychoanalytic interpretation 187
Post-structuralist approaches 192
Feminist interpretations 193
Reciprocal ethnography 195
Intersectionality 198
7 Fieldwork and ethnography 202
Colecting data: the nuts and bolts of fi eldwork 203
Finding Ideas 203
Geting started on fi eldwork 205
Developing and asking good questions 207
Some types of questions 209
Example: using open-ended questions 209
Field notes 21
Example: write-up of fi eld notes 212
Transcribing and transcripts 216
Returning from the fi eld: folow-up research 218
The people factor: interpersonal and ethical concerns 218
Insider and outsider roles 229
Observation and participant-observation roles 220
Rapport: creating and understanding researcher-consultant
relationships 221
Example: complex relationships and responsibilities 222
Ethics 23
8 Examples of folklore projects 225
One of the guys (Joe Ringler) 226
Gay rituals: outing, biking, and sewing (Mickey Weems) 240
Roadside memorials: material focus of love, devotion, and
remembrance (Gary E. A. Saum) 251
The art of gunsmithing in central Ohio: Heritage Gunsmiths,
Inc. (Kevin Eyster) 266
9 Suggestions for activities and projects 273
Group and clasroom activities 274
Personal refl ection 275
Library research 276
Fieldwork projects 276
Integrated projects—bringing it al together 277
Notes 281
References 286
Index 293
Acknowledgments
They say it takes a village to raise a child—well, it takes practically a whole dang
planet to write a book about folklore. This book is the result of a collaborative
effort that included many more people than just the two of us, and we want to
thank our friends, colleagues, families, collaborators and consultants.
Pat Mullen, Amy Shuman and Dan Barnes introduced us to the fi eld of
folklore and have provided much encouragement and support over the years
(and have also shared good ideas, conversation, companionship, parties, stories
and jokes). On this project, we are particularly grateful to Pat Mullen, who read
drafts, asked tough questions, led us to important sources, and always put up
with our pestering. Without his ongoing support and input, this book wouldn’t
have been possible.
Many thanks go to Cynthia Cox, who, through numerous conversations and
initial planning sessions, helped get the idea for this book off the ground and
onto the page.
Sincere thanks go out to all our readers, whose questions and comments
strengthened the fi nal text. Sue V. Lape read just about everything, at just
about every stage, and provided invaluable feedback, Kevin Eyster read key
chapter drafts, and Jacki Spangler read the very fi rst draft of the introduction
and provided practical and emotional support throughout this project. Others
who gave serious time and thought to the selections we asked them to read
include Erik Bakstrom, Christopher Hyde, Rachel Neeb, Laura Roberts, Gary E.
A. Saum, Katherine “Kd” Schuster, Tina Stall, Danny Tuss and Ohio Wesleyan
University students from English 105 classes in Spring and Fall 2004.
ix
