SRJC Course Outlines

11/6/2024 7:15:53 AMANTH 21 Course Outline as of Summer 2025

Changed Course
CATALOG INFORMATION

Discipline and Nbr:  ANTH 21Title:  AMERICAN FOLKLORE/LIFE  
Full Title:  American Folklore and Folklife
Last Reviewed:4/25/2022

UnitsCourse Hours per Week Nbr of WeeksCourse Hours Total
Maximum3.00Lecture Scheduled3.0017.5 max.Lecture Scheduled52.50
Minimum3.00Lab Scheduled06 min.Lab Scheduled0
 Contact DHR0 Contact DHR0
 Contact Total3.00 Contact Total52.50
 
 Non-contact DHR0 Non-contact DHR Total0

 Total Out of Class Hours:  105.00Total Student Learning Hours: 157.50 

Title 5 Category:  AA Degree Applicable
Grading:  Grade or P/NP
Repeatability:  00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP
Also Listed As: 
Formerly:  ANTHRO 21

Catalog Description:
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Students in this course will study a range of the forms and functions of American oral traditions and folklife customs. We will analyze myths, legends, proverbs, humor, life cycle events, folk architecture, foodways and other folklore/life traditions in American communities and neighborhood settings. Cultural comparisons will include no less than three of the following groups: African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino American, European American, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, and Americans of Middle Eastern Origin.

Prerequisites/Corequisites:


Recommended Preparation:
Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent

Limits on Enrollment:

Schedule of Classes Information
Description: Untitled document
Students in this course will study a range of the forms and functions of American oral traditions and folklife customs. We will analyze myths, legends, proverbs, humor, life cycle events, folk architecture, foodways and other folklore/life traditions in American communities and neighborhood settings. Cultural comparisons will include no less than three of the following groups: African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino American, European American, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, and Americans of Middle Eastern Origin.
(Grade or P/NP)

Prerequisites:
Recommended:Eligibility for ENGL 1A or equivalent
Limits on Enrollment:
Transfer Credit:CSU;UC.
Repeatability:00 - Two Repeats if Grade was D, F, NC, or NP

ARTICULATION, MAJOR, and CERTIFICATION INFORMATION

Associate Degree:Effective:Fall 1981
Inactive: 
 Area:D
G
Social and Behavioral Sciences
American Cultures/Ethnic Studies
 
CSU GE:Transfer Area Effective:Inactive:
 DSocial ScienceFall 2011
 D1Anthropology and Archeology  
 D3Ethnic Studies  
 DSocial ScienceFall 2010Fall 2011
 D1Anthropology and Archeology  
 D3Ethnic Studies  
 D4Gender Studies  
 D5Geography  
 D6History  
 D7Interdisc Social or Behavioral Science  
 DSocial ScienceFall 1987Fall 2010
 D1Anthropology and Archeology  
 D4Gender Studies  
 D5Geography  
 D6History  
 D7Interdisc Social or Behavioral Science  
 
IGETC:Transfer Area Effective:Inactive:
 4Social and Behavioral ScienceFall 2010
 4AAnthropology and Archeology  
 4CEthnic Studies  
 4Social and Behavioral ScienceFall 1981Fall 2010
 4AAnthropology and Archeology  
 
CSU Transfer:TransferableEffective:Fall 1981Inactive:
 
UC Transfer:TransferableEffective:Fall 1981Inactive:
 
C-ID:

Certificate/Major Applicable: Major Applicable Course



COURSE CONTENT

Student Learning Outcomes:
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
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1. Analyze the oral, material, and customary folklore of diverse American cultures.
2. Apply folklore collection techniques when analyzing folklore materials.
3. Describe and explain the pervasiveness and importance of folklore and folklife in everyday settings and the importance of folklore as a communicative process.
 

Objectives: Untitled document
At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:
1. Describe and explain appropriate terms and concepts used in the study of American folklore and folklife.
2. Explain the origins and functions of folklore and folklife customs.
3. Evaluate the role of folklore in the portrayal and affirmation of ethnicity, identity and gender and in the cultural concept of race.
4. Evaluate the effects of folklore relevant to the portrayal and perpetuation of maladaptive cultural stereotypes including those based upon Social Darwinism, class, racism, ethnic prejudice, xenophobia and gender prejudice.
5. Describe and critique the ways in which folklore communicates and portrays the culture of LGTBQ Americans.
6. Apply knowledge of field collection techniques and analysis to folklore materials in American cultures.
7. Compare and contrast folkore and folklife genres, concepts, and theories in no less than three of the following groups: African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino American, European American, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and Americans of Middle Eastern origins.
8. Identify some of the major "active bearers" of folklore in the above groups.
9. Identify and evaluate the role of folklore relevant to culture change, including the history and the effects of rumor and conspiracy "theory."

Topics and Scope
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Topics covered may include:
I. The Place of Folklore and Folklife Studies in Anthropology
    A. History and development of folkloristics
         1.  Active bearers
    B. Theoretical perspectives
         1. 19th century perspectives
         2. Contemporary perspectives
II. Anthropological Concepts and Terms Important in Folkloristics
    A. Culture and popular culture
    B. Communication, rumor and conspiracies
    C. Folk group, nation, ethnicity, race, gender, xenophobia, etc.
    D. Genre, version, variants and change over time
    E. Folk taxonomy
III. Origins of Folklore and Folklife Customs and Events, Covering Perspectives such as:
    A. Psychological
    B. Cultural
    C. Phenomenological
IV. Role of Folklore and Folklife Events in at Least Three of the Following: African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino American, European American, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, and Americans of Middle Eastern origins
    A. Family, social, and age groups
    B. Religion
    C. Heath and healing
    D. Political, occupational, and economic life
    E. Rituals and festivals
    F. Other
V. Survey of Folklore Genres in at Least Three of the Following: African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino American, European American, Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, and Americans of Middle Eastern origins, covering themes that may include:
    A. Narratives (legends, folktales, myths, etc.)
    B. Folkspeech and proverbs
    C. Jokes, games, graffiti
    D. "Superstitions," beliefs
    E. Folk songs, ballads, dance and drama
    F. Folk medicine
    G. Other
VI. Field Collection Techniques, Analysis, and Presentations.
    A. Fieldwork rules and ethical duties to:
         1. Consultants
         2. Collaborators
         3. Stakeholders
    B. Collection techniques
         1. Interview and observation techniques
         2. Written and graphic recording
         3. Sound recording
         4. Visual recording
         5. Material lore collection
    C. Analysis
         1. Thesis and argument
         2. Supporting data
    D. Presentation
         1. Written report forms
         2. Visual and oral forms

Assignments:
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1. Read in required textbooks (10-25 pages weekly).
2. Two to four exams including a final exam, which must include short answer and essay questions.
3. Students will make a field collection of folklore and submit it as a written essay (1200-1500 words).
4. Additional required assignments, which may include but are not limited to the following:  
     A. In-class presentations of folklore collection project.
    B. Papers on assigned topics, including book and article response papers and critical analysis essays (1 or more, 800-1250 word).

Methods of Evaluation/Basis of Grade.
Writing: Assessment tools that demonstrate writing skill and/or require students to select, organize and explain ideas in writing.Writing
25 - 40%
Field collection essay, and any other required writing assignments
Problem solving: Assessment tools, other than exams, that demonstrate competence in computational or non-computational problem solving skills.Problem Solving
0 - 0%
None
Skill Demonstrations: All skill-based and physical demonstrations used for assessment purposes including skill performance exams.Skill Demonstrations
0 - 0%
None
Exams: All forms of formal testing, other than skill performance exams.Exams
40 - 60%
Exams, final
Other: Includes any assessment tools that do not logically fit into the above categories.Other Category
10 - 30%
Class participation, presentations


Representative Textbooks and Materials:
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Folkloristics: An Introduction. Georges, Robert A.; Jones, Michael Owen. Indiana University Press. 1995 (Classic)
Listen to Me Good: The Life Story of an Alabama Midwife. Charles Smith, Margaret. Ohio State University Press. 1996 (Classic)
Living Folklore: An Introduction to the Study of People and Their Traditions. Edition 2. Sims, Martha C.; Stephens, Martine. Utah State University Press. 2011 (Classic)
The Spirit Catches You & You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Fadiman, Anne. Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 2012 (Classic)
 
Web-based Resources or Selections from websites, including:
The American Folklore Society, An Online Source of American Folklore Publications, https://americanfolkloresociety.org/ 2022
The Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, An Online Archive of American and International Folklife Ethnographic Materials, https://loc.gov/folklife/ 2022
The Western States Folklore Society, An Online Source of Regional, National, and International Folklore Publications, https://www.westernfolklore.org/ 2022

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