Folklore and Public Culture (BA)

Students studying folklore and public culture at the UO receive comprehensive training in scholarly approaches and methods for researching, documenting, and presenting traditional arts and cultural practices within the United States and abroad.

Courses cover an extensive range of interdisciplinary topics: cultural heritage, ethnicity, subcultures, popular culture, performance, gender, film, religion, public folklore, and issues of diversity and globalization. Folklore and Public Culture graduates work in public and private agencies as educators, archivists, editors, arts and humanities consultants, museum curators, and festival planners.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Identify and explain key concepts in academic and public folklore.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the research methods associated with academic and public folklore.
• Understand and apply fieldwork methods and proper documentation techniques necessary for submission of fieldwork for archival preservation.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the multiple theoretical orientations contributing to an understanding and analysis of academic and public folklore.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the types of folkloric expression and various types of folk groups in relationship to historical, cultural, and social contexts.
• Understand and give examples of what academic and public folklorists do.
• Evaluate how academic and public folklore contributes to understanding contemporary issues requiring decision making and policy development.

Folklore and Public Culture Major

Students studying folklore and public culture at the UO receive comprehensive training in scholarly approaches and methods for researching, documenting, and presenting traditional arts and cultural practices within the United States and abroad. Students majoring in folklore and public culture must earn a minimum of 48 credits, of which 32 must be upper division, and 20 of the 48 must be Folklore (FLR) credits.

Electives

Students may substitute courses to fulfill requirements with the approval of their major advisor. Programs from other departments or programs offering folklore-related courses include anthropology, arts and administration, classics, dance, English, ethnic studies, German and Scandinavian, historic preservation, humanities, international studies, journalism and communication, Judaic studies, music, religious studies, Romance languages, theater arts, and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.

Minimum Grade

Course work required for the folklore and public culture major, both lower division and upper division, must be passed with grades of C– or better. No more than 8 pass/no pass credits may be applied to the major. 

Foreign Language Requirement

Majors must complete the university foreign-language requirement for the BA degree.

Residency Requirement

Twenty-eight credits of upper-division coursework for the major must be completed at the University of Oregon.

Four-Year Degree Plan

The degree plan shown is only a sample of how students may complete their degrees in four years. There are alternative ways. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best path for them.

Bachelor of Arts in Folklore and Public Culture