ENGH 412: Topics in Folklore Studies

ENGH 412-002: Personal Experience Narrative
(Fall 2015)

04:30 PM to 07:10 PM M

Section Information for Fall 2015

Telling stories is central to human communication, we narrate our existence, shaping our world through the stories we tell. The focus of this course is on these stories we tell in conversations, to our friends, and about ourselves.  Hannah Arendt argued that storytelling is a strategy for transforming private into public meanings.  Indeed, storytelling mediates our relationships with worlds that extend beyond us and enables us to negotiate a balance between the self and these worlds of otherness.

Over the course of the semester, we'll think about the social functions of personal narrative.  In particular, we'll explore how personal narratives provide their tellers with coherence and work as resources for navigating the ambiguities and messiness of experience.  We'll also study how narratives operate as presentations of self and work to create and maintain personal and group identity.  FInally, we'll discuss the politics of storytelling; we'll think about how storytelling functions as a vital strategy for sustaining a sense of agency in the face of disempowering circumstances.

Coursework will include weekly response papers, one short essay, and one longer ethnographic essay analyzing personal experience narratives we've collected.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Exploration of various aspects of folklore and folklife such as folklore and literature, folk arts, folk song, and material culture. Notes: May be repeated when topic is different with permission of department. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: Satisfaction of University requirements in 100-level English and in Mason Core literature.
Schedule Type: Lec/Sem #1, Lec/Sem #2, Lec/Sem #3, Lec/Sem #4, Lec/Sem #5, Lec/Sem #6, Lec/Sem #7, Lec/Sem #8, Lec/Sem #9, Lecture, Sem/Lec #10, Sem/Lec #11, Sem/Lec #12, Sem/Lec #13, Sem/Lec #14, Sem/Lec #15, Sem/Lec #16, Sem/Lec #17, Sem/Lec #18
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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