This course will introduce students to the materials and methods
of folklore study through a detailed examination of important 
components of Slavic folk culture and beliefs. Students will 
read a variety of texts, including scholarly works, historical
accounts, and examples of verbal folklore collected by 
researchers. They will also analyze representations and 
adaptations of folklore in literary works, film, art, and 
music. Students will acquire knowledge of a variety of genres 
and images from Slavic folklore and an understanding of how 
folklore functions in a society and how it is transmitted from 
one generation to the next.

Students will be evaluated on the basis of oral presentations 
and written assignments, as well as their active participation 
in class discussions.

Following is a representative outline of topics and possible
readings. The actual choice and sequencing of materials may 
vary.

Introduction to basic terminology and concepts (Natalie
Kononenko, Slavic Folklore)
Who are the Slavs?
Interplay of culture, religion and folklore (Linda Ivanits,
Russian Folk Belief)
Ancient Slavic belief systems: Hierarchy of pagan gods (Jan
Machal, Slavic Mythology)
Ancient Slavic belief systems: Lower mythology (Ivanits)
The Slavic family: Values and customs (Ivanits)
Slavic rituals: Birth, marriage, and death (Kononenko)
Slavic holidays: Ceremonies and songs (Kononenko)
Slavic taboos (Kononenko)
Slavic riddles and proverbs (Kononenko)
Magic acts and magic words (Ivanits; W. F. Ryan, The Bathhouse 
at Midnight: An Historical Survey of Magic and Divination in 
Russia)
East European vampires (Felix J. Oinas, East European Vampires)
The fairy tale: Heroes and villains (Vladimir Propp, Morphology
of the Folktale; Aleksandr Afanasyev, Russian Fairy Tales)
Folk epics (William Bascom, Forms of Folklore: Prose Narrative;
Vasa D. Mihailovic, 
Songs of the Serbian People: From the Collections of Vuk
Karadzic; Skaftymov, "The 
Structure of the Byliny"; various byliny - "Svyatogor", Ilya
Muromets", and "Kalinin Tsar")
Children's folklore (Halina Weiss, Draznilkas: Russian 
Children's Taunts)
Slavic literature and folklore (Nikolai Gogol, Viy)
Folklore in cinema (Films: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
[Paradjanov, 1964], NIght 
Watch [Bekmambetov, 2004])
Folklore in classical music (Rimsky-Korsakov, Kitezh; 
Stravinsky, Firebird, Borodin, Prince Igor)
Folklore in art (palekh, khokhloma, Ivan Bilibin, Viktor
Vasnetsov, Mikhail Vrubel)

All students are responsible for informing themselves about the
UGA Student Honor Code. The instructor will communicate to 
students specific requirements and policies connected with 
written assignments.