Course for international guest/part time students
- Faculty
- Faculty of Humanities
- Organization
- BTK Institute of Ethnography and Folklore
- Code
- BBN-NEP11-271
- Title
- Hungarian and comparative folklore 5.
- Usual semester
- Autumn
- ECTS
- 3
- Language
- hu
- Learning outcomes
- Course objectives: To familiarize students with the diverse forms of contemporary folklore. To highlight the social roles of folklore in the 20th and 21st centuries. To demonstrate the impact of digital culture and globalization on the development of folklore. To develop students' critical analytical skills and interdisciplinary thinking.
- Course content
- Aim of teaching: a) knowledge Understands the contemporary directions of folkloristics, its changing media, and its social roles. Can interpret the relationships between folklore and modern technology, globalization, and popular culture. Is able to analyse how heritage traditions, legends, myths, and beliefs are transformed in the contemporary world. Is familiar with the critical literature on digital folklore, urban legends, conspiracy lore, and posthuman folklore. b) skills Can independently collect and analyse contemporary folklore from both digital and non-digital sources. Applies theoretical frameworks (e.g. performance theory, narrative theories, network analysis) to the interpretation of contemporary folklore phenomena. Critically examines the interrelations between folklore, power, identity, and technology. Communicates scholarly results on current folklore topics to regional and international audiences. c) attitude Is open to cultural pluralism, creative reinterpretations, and hybrid forms of folklore. Is sensitive to ethical issues such as data protection, researcher responsibility, and community access. Approaches the constant transformation and diverse manifestations of folklore with an innovative and reflective mindset. d) autonomy and responsibility Can carry out independent thematic research and develop small-scale case studies. Confidently manages the technical and ethical challenges of fieldwork and online data collection. Reflects responsibly on the representation, publication, and “ownership” of folklore (e.g. community rights, authorship, access). Content of education The course introduces the theoretical background, methodology, and case studies of contemporary folklore phenomena. It focuses on legends, myths, urban folklore, digital folklore, communal practices and beliefs, and the interrelations between folklore, media, technology, identity, and power. The syllabus can be adapted each semester, but always includes common modules on theory, method, and contemporary manifestations Main themes and issues What does “contemporary folklore” mean? Conceptual clarification and the relationship between tradition and modernity. Changing media of folklore: orality, literacy, and the digital sphere. Legends, urban myths, and conspiracy narratives: dissemination and social functions. Beliefs, magical narratives, and spiritual folklore in the modern world. Digital folklore: memories, memorial pages, online myths, and the “digital afterlife.” Performance, rituality, and folklore events in contemporary contexts. Folklore, identity, and community narratives (e.g. migration, ethnicity, diaspora). Power and influence: folklore as resistance, hegemony, and cultural politics. Methodology and ethics: digital ethnography, network analysis, and researcher reflexivity.
- Assessment method
- Participation: regular and active attendance in classes (20%) Oral exam: the course ends with an oral exam (colloquium) at the end of the semester, covering the material presented in class and the required readings (80%).
- Bibliography
- Blank, Trevor J. (szerk.) (2009): Folklore and the Internet. Vernacular Expression in a Digital World. Logan: Utah State University Press. Brunvand, Jan Harold (2012): Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. Updated and Expanded Edition. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Dundes, Alan (1980): Who Are the Folk? In Alan Dundes: Interpreting Folklore. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1–19. Pink, Sarah (2016): Digital Ethnography. Principles and Practice. London: Sage, 1–18. Tangherlini, Timothy R. et al. (2020) An automated pipeline for the discovery of conspiracy and conspiracy theory narrative frameworks. PLoS ONE 15(6). e0233879. Walter, Tony (2015) Communication media and the dead: from the Stone Age to Facebook. Mortality 20(3). 215–232.
- Recommended bibliography
- Balanzategui, Jessica (2019): Creepypasta, ‘Candle Cove’, and the Digital Gothic. Journal of Visual Culture 18(2). 187–208. Blank, Trevor J. – McNeill, Lynne S. (szerk.) (2018): Slender Man Is Coming. Creepypasta and Contemporary Legends on the Internet. Logan: Utah State University Press. Cowdell, Paul (2019): ‘Practicing Witchcraft Myself During the Filming’: Folk Horror, Folklore, and the Folkloresque. Western Folklore 78(4). 295–326. Domokos Mariann (2013): Az elektronikus folklór gyűjtéséről. Ethno-Lore 30. 292–320. Ilyefalvi Emese (2017): Digitális szövegfolklór – adatbázisok és a számítógépes folklorisztika elméleti, módszertani és technikai kérdései. Replika 104. 145–191. Kis-Halas Judit (2018): „Haragudtam az angyalokra, hogy átb*sztak”: Angyalkultusz és UFO-vallás. In Povedák István – Hubbes László Attila (szerk.): Tapasztalatból hallottam… Szeged: MTA–SZTE VKCS, 191–216. Oring, Elliot (2019): Back to the Future: Questions for Theory in the Twenty-First Century. Journal of American Folklore 132(524). 137–156.