FOLK 320 601 Folklore and Nationalism

Meltem Turkoz
Seminar: Wednesday 5:30-8:40
CGS course

In this course students will be introduced to the parallel development of folklore as a discipline and the creation of national identity. Folklorists have learned that nationalist intellectuals and politicians have universally based their claims for national identity on the existence of an authentic folk culture. Students will be introduced to folklore as a discipline and to landmark texts in the study of nationalism. Primary and secondary material by and about 19th century intellectuals such as the brothers Grimm will enable students to explore the context of romantic nationalism as it developed in Western Europe. We will trace the process by which folklore moved from being an intellectual preoccupation to a political one, and explore the implications of administrative folklore. Finally, we will explore the way in which folklore and culture continue to be significant in contemporary life through political rhetoric, symbols, monuments and tourism.

 
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