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DOCUMENTING COMMUNITY ARTS AND TRADITIONS (ART-224314)

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Course Description:


Students will learn concepts of folklore and use a range of fieldwork methods to study and document community arts and traditions. Emphasis will be on material culture, verbal art, and belief systems of the local communities. The course will begin with an overview of key concepts, genres, and ethics in folklore studies. Students then will learn fieldwork methods such as interviewing, participant observation, visual and audio documentation, and representation/reporting. Concurrently, students will be expected to carry out a project to practice these fieldwork documentation methods at their own local community. Through regular online discussion of the course readings and individual project, students will also engage with critical issues that arise in the context of conducting local fieldwork. Projects could deal with any of the wide array of local or everyday life artistic expression and traditions that sustain communities: regional arts and crafts, festival/fair, rituals, jokes, proverbs of community elders, regional foodways, and so on. At the end of the course, students will develop a fieldwork portfolio including all the (digitalized) raw material collected from the field, field notes, a well crafted example of visual or audio documentation (e.g., photographic documentation, short video documentation, audio-recording/reporting), and a final culminating report.

Note that this course emphasizes practical exercise of research methodology in the field of folklore studies: interview, visual and audio documentation, and reporting. The primary audience for this course includes students interested in cultural studies, folklore studies, public history, journalism, community services, and the arts. In addition, a student in gender studies could use this course as an opportunity to research some aspect of women's creativity and culture in the local community. Or, a student in Community and Human Services might focus on the role of a regional arts organization in promoting the well-being of the community. Alternatively, a Labor Studies student could study some aspect of working class lore in the local community.

Prerequisites: Camera and audio recorders are required. No prior knowledge of folklore or art is assumed or required. Time, equipment, and ability to conduct a fieldwork project at the local community are crucial.

NOTE: Audio editing software is required only for students who choose to produce an audio project. Video recorder and editing software are required only for students who choose to produce a short video project.


This online course is offered through Online Learning. You can take this as an individual course or as part of an online degree program, with term starts in March, May, September, November and January. View current term offerings and all online courses. Click here to register for online courses.

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Liberal Study
Upper Level
Credits: 4
Term(s) Offered (Subject to Change) :

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