Slavic folklore and belief systems in different historical
periods and their representation and adaptation in historical
accounts, legends, customs, fairy tales, literature, film, and
art. No background knowledge required. All readings and
discussions are in English.
Athena Title
Slavic Folklore
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course students should be able to identify and interpret key components of Slavic folk culture and beliefs through the study of scholarly texts, historical accounts, and examples of verbal folklore.
By the end of this course students should be able to compare and contrast representations and adaptations of folklore in various media, including literature, film, art, and music.
By the end of this course students should be able to decipher symbolic meanings of images from Slavic folklore and identify culture-specific features of folkloric genres.
By the end of this course students should be able to examine how folklore is transmitted across generations in Slavic regions and assess its role in shaping societal values and identities.
By the end of this course students should be able to construct informed, well-researched oral and written statements that effectively communicate analysis of Slavic folklore to a variety of audiences.
Topical Outline
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)
General Education Core
CORE IV: World Languages and Global Culture CORE IV: Humanities and the Arts
