Slavic Folklore and Myth: Epic Heroes, Lucky Fools, Iron-Toothed Witches and the Undead Curt Woolhiser Spring 2017 T Th 3:30 4:50 Class location: Office: Golding 16 Email: cwoolhis@brandeis.edu Office hours: Course Description The Slavic peoples have an exceptionally rich and diverse folklore, elements of which have had a powerful impact on world popular culture (most notably through the character of the undead vampire, a word itself of Slavic origin). In this course we will examine a variety of folkloric genres characteristic of the East Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians), West Slavs (Poles, Czechs and Slovaks) and South Slavs (Serbs, Bosnians, Croatians, Slovenes, Bulgarians and Macedonians), including proverbs and riddles, folk mythology and demonology, seasonal rituals and folk magic, folk tales, and oral epic poetry and ballads (the Russian bylina, Ukrainian duma and South Slavic epic songs). We will also explore how native folkloric elements have been appropriated and interpreted by Slavic high culture and modern popular culture, including literature, music, the visual arts and film. In addition, we will examine elements of folk belief and oral folkloric tradition that persist in contemporary Slavic societies, and will see how Slavic folk
traditions have been revived or (re)invented, both as an instrument of nation-building and as a local response to the forces of globalization and cultural homogenization. Learning Goals 1) Gain a basic understanding of the principal folkloric genres of the Russians, Ukrainians and other Slavic peoples. 2) Gain an understanding of what folklorists do and how their work is relevant to understanding culture. 3) Learn about various theories and approaches in folklore studies and how they can be used to analyze and interpret Slavic and other folkloric traditions. 4) Appreciate the commonalities and differences in cultural categories and structures across cultures. 5) Improve analytical skills through detailed written analyses of folkloric texts. 6) Acquire greater cross-cultural sensitivity. Prerequisites No knowledge of Russian or any other Slavic language is required for this course, although students with proficiency in Russian or other Slavic languages are encouraged to work with original texts for their research papers and final project. Course Materials Textbooks: Linda J. Ivanits, Russian Folk Belief Natalie Kononenko, Slavic Folklore: A Handbook Course Readings on LATTE On Reserve at Goldfarb Library: Aleksandr Afanas ev, Russian Fairy Tales Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folktale Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment Alan Dundes, Interpreting Folklore Tentative Course Plan Readings marked with * are recommended but not required January 17, Tuesday Introduction and Overview: What is folklore? Who are the folk? And who are the Slavs? (Video: Sviatki and Koliady/Kaliady, East Slavic Yuletide traditions)
January 19, Thursday Who are the Slavs? (cont.). Folklore as a field of study. Authenticity, folklore and fakelore. Read: Kononenko, pp. 1-13, Dundes, Who are the Folk? and "Alan Dundes' List of Folklore Genres" (readings on LATTE) January 24, Tuesday The pagan Slavic pantheon. Dvoeverie (religious syncretism). Read: Mácha: Slavic Mythology, pp. 19-75 (LATTE readings) Film excerpts: Paradzhanov s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, and Turau s Polesian Chronicle January 26, Thursday Seasonal and life cycle rituals, magic acts and magic words Read: Frazer, The Principles of Sympathetic Magic Malinowski, The Rite and the Spell Texts of Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and other Slavic ritual songs, charms and curses (LATTE) Video: Maslenitsa and Ivan Kupalo (Kupalle) (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus), Hukanne viasny and Pakhavanne straly (Summoning of Spring and Burying the Arrow, Belarus) January 28, Tuesday The Living, the Dead, and the Undead: Slavic and East European vampires Read: Gennep, from The Rites of Passage ( Funeral Rites ) Oinas, East European Vampires Fine, In Defense of Vampires Folk narratives about vampires (LATTE) Excerpts from Viy (1964) February 2, Thursday The Living, the Dead, and the Undead: Rusalki, Mavky and others Read: Ivanits, from Russian Folk Belief ( Nature Spirits ) Film: The Mermaid by A. Petrov February 7, Tuesday Discussion: Foklore Collection Project Read: Dundes, Texture, Text and Context ; Proverbs and the Ethnography of Speaking Folklore Wilson, "Collecting Folklore" (Chapter 10 in Oring, Folk Groups and Folklore Genres) (LATTE) Assignments on Blackboard (Discussion Sections) February 9, Thursday Introduction to Folk Narrative Read: Olrik, Epic Laws Bascom, The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narrative Afanas ev, Russian Fairy Tales, pp. 49-53, 262-268, 580-588, 612-624
February 14, Tuesday Fairy Tale: Patterns and Formulas Read: Propp, Morphology of the Folktale, pp. 19-50 Afanas ev, pp. 375-386, 349-350, 406-410, 494-497 February 16, Thursday Discussion: Morphology of the Fairy Tale Read: Propp, Morphology, pp. 50-65, 71-78, 92-99 (ch. IX, A and B) Afanas ev, pp. 363-365, 393-398, 463-475, 229-234 February 20-24: Winter Break February 28, Tuesday Fairy Tale: Donors and Villains Read: Propp, Morphology, pp. 79-91 Johns, Baba Iaga and the Russian Mother Forrester, Introduction, Baba Yaga, the Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales Afanas ev, pp. 31-37, 439-447, 363-365, 485-494, 553-562 February 28: Brandeis Russian Club Maslenitsa Celebration March 2, Thursday Review for Midterm Prepare questions or requests to review specific material in advance of this class. Write out two short-answer questions based on the material for the test and bring them to class. Please be prepared to support the correct answer with a citation, etc. These questions will be collected and used for the in-class review. Excellent questions will earn participation credit! Use Key Terms and Concepts on LATTE as your checklist when reading and reviewing class materials. March 7, Tuesday MIDTERM EXAMINATION March 9, Thursday The Origin of the Fairy Tale Read: Propp, Wondertale as a Whole Afanas ev, pp. 146-150, 427-438, 119-123, 314-320, 360-363 March 14, Tuesday Fairy Tale: Meanings and Interpretations Read: *Lüthi, Isolation and Universal Interconnectedness
Bettleheim, Three Feathers: The Youngest as Simpleton Afanas ev, pp. 44-46, 46-48, 194-195, 366-369, 278-279, 294-299, 504-520 (LATTE) March 16, Thursday Discussion: Interpreting the Fairy Tale Assignments on LATTE March 21, Tuesday Assignment #1 fairy tale essay due! Introduction to the Folk Epic Read: Bailey and Ivanova, The Russian Oral Epic Tradition: An Introduction and Svyatogor March 23, Thursday Russian Bylinas: Genesis and Poetics Read: Volkh Vseslavyevich ; Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber ; Alyosha Popovich, His Squire Yekim, and Tugarin ; Sadko Skaftymov, The Structure of the Byliny (Video: performance of Bylina of Il ya Muromets) March 28, Tuesday The Ukrainian Duma Read: Duma about Marusia from Bohuslav ; Duma about the Flight of Three Brothers from the city of Azov ; Clegg, D. Philaret Kolessa s Classification of the Ukrainian Recitative Songs (Video: performance of Duma about Marusia from Bohuslav) March 30, Thursday The South Slavic Epic Tradition: An Introduction Read: The Tsar and the Girl ; The Building of Skadar ; The Fall of the Serbian Empire ; The Kosovo Maiden from Songs of the Serbian People: From the Collections of Vuk Karadžić, trans. and ed. by Milne Holton and Vasa D. Mihailovich) (LATTE) April 4, Tuesday April 6, Thursday The South Slavic Epic Tradition (cont.) Read: Marko Kraljavić Drinks Wine at Ramadan ; A Maiden Outwits Marko ; The Wife of Hasan Aga [Hasanaginica], The Ballad of The Walled-Up Wife [Alan Dundes, pp. 185-204] from The Walled-Up Wife: A Casebook, ed. by Alan Dundes). (Video: excerpts of performances of Serbian epic songs from the Vojvodina Festival of Epic Song) Slavic Folklore in high and popular Slavic culture: Read: Pushkin Ruslan and Ludmila, Gogol, Viy, L. Petrushevskaya Nose the Girl Video: excerpts from performances of Glinka s Ruslan and Ludmila and Stravinsky s Rite of Spring, animated version of L. Filatov s Tale of Fedot the Strelets
April 10-18: Spring Break April 20, Thursday Slavic Folklore in high and popular Slavic culture (cont.) Read: Kotsiubyns kyi: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, Adam Hlobus, Demonicameron (excerpts) April 25, Tuesday Slavic Folklore and Fakelore in the Service of Nation and State Read: Frank J. Miller, The Origins of Folklore for Stalin, in Folklore for Stalin: Russian Folklore and Pseudofolklore of the Stalin Era, pp. 3 24; Noviny by M. S, Kriukova, pp. 25-51. April 27, Thursday May 2, Tuesday Student presentations based on final projects Final project due! Discussion: Review for Final Exam Prepare questions or requests to review specific material in advance of this class. Write out two short-answer questions and one essay question based on the material for the test. Please be prepared to support the correct answer with a citation, etc. These questions will be collected and used for the in-class review. Excellent questions will earn participation credit! Bring your sample questions to class for possible inclusion on the actual final and the chance to earn additional participation credit! Use Key Terms and Concepts on LATTE as your checklist when reading and reviewing class materials. Course Requirements and Policies 1. Attendance and participation Because lectures and discussions do not replace readings but complement them, students must come to class with the material they have read, prepared to participate in discussions. Assignments on LATTE will include additional readings, video clips, discussion questions, and projects for in-class work. Please note that you will be required to submit two substantive questions on the readings via email by 12:00PM before each class session; the instructor will select up to three of these questions from different students for discussion at the beginning of each class session. Absences for documented illnesses, family emergencies, and university obligations are excused, as are religious holidays. But you are responsible for material covered in every class, including those you miss. Excessive lateness will begin to count as unexcused
absence. Students with more than 3 unexcused absences will have their grades lowered a full letter grade; 6 unexcused absences will result in failure. 2. Written assignments There will be two written assignments: a thematic and structural analysis of a Slavic folktale (6-7 pages, due March 21) and a final project (10 pages, due May 2), which may be one of the following: 1) an analysis of one or more literary, musical, or filmic works based on folklore. For example, the Russian animation studio Melnitsa produces a folklore-based cartoon almost annually. The same may be done with a literary work such as the fairy tales of the contemporary Russian writer Ludmila Petrushevskaia; 2) a collection project where the student a) goes and collects folklore from Slavic groups living in the Boston area (the Boston area has sizable immigrant populations from Russia and Ukraine, the former Yugoslavia and Poland); or b) interviews via Skype and email members of university-based folklore collection and interpretation/performance groups in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus or other Slavic countries (see instructor for contacts); the student will then present the collected texts (in the broadest sense, including elements of material culture) and interview notes, along with an analysis of these texts. 3) a research paper presenting a case study of how folklore (or fakelore) has been deployed for political/ideological ends as an instrument of nation-building in contemporary Slavic countries. 4) the student may create his or her own project proposal, discuss it with the class and present it to the instructor for approval. 3. Exams There will be a midterm and a comprehensive final exam covering material from the readings and class lectures and discussions. Evaluation 1. Grade Breakdown Class participation: 15% Writing project (fairy tale essay, due March 21): 10% Final project (research paper/folklore collection and analysis, due May 2): 15% Oral presentation based on final project: 5% Midterm exam: 25% Final exam: 30%
2. Grading Scale A 90-94% A- 86-89% B+ 82-85% 75- B 81% B- 70-74% C+ 66-69% 61- C 65% C- 58-60% D+ 55-57% D 50-54% Descriptor Excellent: Superior performance showing comprehensive understanding of the subject 4.0 matter. 3.7 Very good: Clearly above average performance with complete knowledge of subject matter. 3.3 Very good 3.0 Good: average performance with knowledge of subject matter generally complete. 2.7 Good 2.3 Satisfactory: Basic understanding of the subject matter 2.0 Satisfactory 1.7 Satisfactory Minimal Pass: Marginal performance; generally insufficient preparation subsequent courses 1.3 in the subject matter. Minimal Pass: Marginal performance; generally insufficient preparation subsequent courses 1.0 in the subject matter. F 0-49% 0.0 Fail: Unsatisfactory performance or failure to meet course requirements. Notice of Accommodation If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately. Statement on Brandeis Academic Integrity Academic integrity is central to the mission of educational excellence at Brandeis University. Each student is expected to turn in work completed independently, except when assignments specifically authorize collaborative effort. It is not acceptable to use the words or ideas of another person, be it a world-class philosopher or your lab partner, without proper acknowledgement of that source. Violations of University policies on academic integrity, described in Section Three of Rights and Responsibilities, may result in failure of the course or on the assignment, or in suspension or dismissal from the University. If you are in doubt about the instructions for any assignment in this course, it is your responsibility to ask your instructor for clarification.