I love stories. I have for my entire life. They were a constant presence in my life; whether

Transcription

1 IDIM: Literature and Folklore in Context I love stories. I have for my entire life. They were a constant presence in my life; whether I was reading Tolkien, writing stories about my pets, or daydreaming about a plucky settler on the Oregon Trail in history class, there has rarely been a time that I was not searching for or constructing a narrative. But when it came time to choose a story for my education and career, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of choices that I felt I could never narrow down. Thus I chose to create a major entitled Literature and Folklore in Context in order to understand stories and storytelling in a holistic study of every factor that goes into them. I will study the stories themselves through English and German & Scandinavian studies, as well as anthropology and history, in order to fully understand the historical and anthropological context of literature and folklore in early society, how they define and modify each other, and how these traditions continue to manifest throughout time. If this seems like an impossibly broad focus, that s because it is. There is a wonderful symbiotic relationship between the literature and folklore and context parts of my IDIM; as one changes and evolves, it influences the other in a perpetual give-and-take of inextricable ideas. For the purposes of this program, I will define literature as written works and folklore as stories originally conceived as oral narratives. While literature is perhaps more accessible in today s world of widely recorded and disseminated information, folklore is in some ways the more elusive of the two. Written versions do exist, but as the content of a largely oral tradition, studying folklore is not only fascinating in its own right, but also part of the elusive mystery of the human condition in a pre-literate society. But by studying history and anthropology, I can identify connections between human history and storytelling that are not otherwise apparent, as well as understand the effect of history and anthropology on the literature and folklore of a culture, and

2 vice versa. I could live for a thousand years and never completely untangle this mass of information and ideas, but that is precisely what draws me to this study. It allows for a lifetime of learning, both in institutions of learning and hands-on as I work within my field. Literature and Folklore in Context is also an exciting way for me to explore not only the connections between a culture s history and its stories through the individual aspects, but also the other way around. By seeing what the similarities between disciplines and between cultures are, I can better appreciate the differences that make each culture unique. Behind every piece of literature, there is the story of how it was conceived, made, and received; behind each aspect of a culture are the stories made to reflect and disseminate it within and without the society from which it comes. Some themes transcend cultural boundaries; for example, small, mischievous creatures (fairies, leprechauns, and dwarves come to mind) pop up in a number of regions across the globe, and practically every society tells of heroes that succeed by embodying those values central to their culture, whether it be Britain s King Arthur or Heracles/Hercules of Greek and Roman tradition. These common motifs may differ in the minutiae, but the fact that two ancient civilizations with little or no contact with each other came up with the same characters and plots is certainly worth exploring. Literature and Folklore in Context is an ideal framework in which to understand the condition of mankind through the quintessentially human practice of storytelling. If literature and folklore is the primary topic, it depends on language and context for its substance. By studying English and German literature, I will learn about these stories, their structure, and their presence in literature from its conception to the present day. My classes in the English department consist of ENGL 3001W Textual Analysis, ENGL 3007 Shakespeare, ENGL 3110 Medieval Literature, and ENGL 3025 The End of the World in Literature and History. ENGL 3001W Textual Analysis lays the foundation of effective and efficient analysis of literature, which

3 is a vital tool in understanding the complexities of literature and folklore in order to build a comprehensive picture. As the most influential writer in the western world, studying Shakespeare s plays in ENGL 3007 Shakespeare will highlight both the shift in language and literature that occurred in the late 16th- and early 17th centuries and the connections between Shakespeare and his predecessors, as well as between him and the literature that followed. ENGL 3110 Medieval Literature will cover a variety of pieces from a broad expanse of history, wherein monotheism spread across Europe and came in contact with many localized cultures with rich and complex lore of their own. Additionally, the late Middle Ages saw the invention of the printing press, which completely changed the way information and stories were shared and accessed. Finally, ENGL 3025 The End of the World in Literature and History will illuminate a pervasive and influential theme common to every civilization. With a more expansive view than simply the writing itself, this course offers an exploration of the distant and inevitable finality of the universe in all of its forms. My German and Scandinavian studies courses will be split between the University of Minnesota and the University of Iceland, which I will attend for the school year via a Scholarship Exchange. At the U, I will take the classes GER 3011W Conversation and Composition and GER 3601 German Medieval Literature. The former will build my speaking and writing skills to enable me to better interact with German literature in its original language; the latter will offer the same temporal scope as ENGL 3110 Medieval Literature, but with a greater focus on a particular language and culture. At the University of Iceland, I will take ÍSE 014G Icelandic Culture, ÞJÓ 437G Old Nordic Religion and Belief, and ÞÝS 311G History and Culture of German Speaking Countries. ÍSE 014G Icelandic Culture will provide a unique opportunity to learn about a country s culture within that country, and it is a culture unlike any other on earth due

4 to Iceland s unique and largely solitary history. I will expand on folklore through ÞJÓ 437G Old Nordic Religion and Belief, which will highlight the mythology and culture of Nordic countries. Finally, ÞÝS 311G History and Culture of German Speaking Countries will be a particularly unique experience, since the class is taught in German. Not only will I learn the context of German literature by studying the history and culture, but the setting also has me learning this information in a country that is neither my own nor one of those being discussed with German-speaking exchange students. I expect to be challenged to the extreme in this class, but it is an experience I look forward to. History and anthropology will both serve to provide the context of these stories; history by explaining the world in which they existed, and anthropology by illuminating the people and societies behind the stories and why they wrote what they did. Most of my anthropology courses will be taught at the University of Iceland; only ANTH 3003 Cultural Anthropology will be taken at the U. It will lay the framework of evaluating and understanding culture in an anthropological sense, which will serve me well as I analyze culture throughout the rest of my education and career. In Iceland, ÞJÓ 025G Being Icelandic and MAN 335G Iceland: Anthropological Past, Present, and Future will both provide a comprehensive view of the cultural makeup of Iceland throughout its existence. To complete the picture, FOR 802M Medieval Archaeology and MAN 319M Common Sense? - Anthropology of Perception and Senses will offer a more scientific aspect of anthropology to inform observations within the more subjective realm of cultural anthropology. The final concentration of my IDIM program is history, including classes focusing on art history. The specific courses are ARTH 3009 Medieval Art, ARTH 3940 Seeing American Folklife, HIST 3284W History Through Memoir, HIST 3411W The Family from 10,000 BCE to the Present, and HSP 813M Medieval Philosophy. The first two courses are within the art history

5 department, each focusing on a drastically different age. ARTH 3009 Medieval Art explores the visual culture created by people in an age of expansion and development, neither of which could leave the world of artistry untouched. Whether expressed in the early Christian churches of Rome and Constantinople or the marginalia found in illuminated manuscripts, the Middle Ages reflected the changing world through its art. ARTH 3940 Seeing American Folklife, on the other hand, offers a look at the material culture of America, including the modern age. The study of these everyday objects are quite telling of the people who used them and the culture they came from, as well as provide useful skills for analyzing artifacts from other historical periods. Within the history department, I aim to understand a more holistic view of the past, rather than simply chronicling events and lineages. HIST 3284W History Through Memoir will accomplish this by looking at the personal accounts of individuals lives, creating a more intimate connection to the past; HIST 3411W The Family from 10,000 BCE to the Present will do this by studying the structure of societies most basic and prevalent building block in all its forms over thousands of years. Finally, HSP 813M Medieval Philosophy will highlight the way Medieval societies qualified and evaluated the world around them, which is imperative for us to understand as we look back at products of the past. The University of Minnesota s IDIM program offers a unique opportunity to study and explore a program of study designed to perfectly suit my interests. Literature and Folklore in Context encompasses a wide range of material that work together to illuminate the human condition not only through history and anthropology, but also through the stories we have shared and revised over time. Furthermore, spending my junior year abroad at the University of Iceland in Reykjavik will offer a once-in-a-lifetime chance to learn Nordic mythology and folklore from

6 its birthplace and home. I look forward to the classes I have highlighted previously, and especially the careers and opportunities my IDIM will open in the future.

7 Total number of credits in proposed program: 57 Total number 3/4/5xxx level credits in proposed program: 57 Total credits in program left to complete: 32 IDIM Title: Literature and Folklore in Context Title: English (Literature) Dept. Course Code Course Title ENGL 3007 Shakespeare 3 ENGL 3001W Textual Analysis 4 ENGL 3110 Medieval Literature 3 Complete: Credits (Grade) ENS 349M Language and Humor 5 ENS 817M Creative Writing Course 5 TOTALS: 3/4/5xxx level credits in area: 20 Total credits in area (IDIM only): 20 Not Complete: Credits (Term) Title: Anthropology Dept. ANT H Course Code Course Title 3003 Cultural Anthropology 3 Complete: Credits (Grade) MAN 507M Urban Anthropology 5 ÍSE 014G Icelandic Culture 5 TOTALS: 3/4/5xxx level credits in area: 13 Total credits in area (IDIM only): 13 Not Complete: Credits (Term)

8 Title: German/Scandinavian Studies Dept. Course Code Course Title GER 3011W Conversation and Composition 3 GER 3601 German Medieval Literature 3 Complete: Credits (Grade) ÞJÓ 437G Old Nordic Religion and Belief 5 Not Complete: Credits (Term) TOTALS: 3/4/5xxx level credits in area: 11 Total credits in area (IDIM only): 11 Title: History and Art History Dept. Course Code Course Title ARTH 3009 Medieval Art 3 ARTH 3940 Seeing American Folklife 3 Complete: Credits (Grade) HIST 3284W History Through Memoir 3 HIST 3411W The Family from 10,000 BCE to the Present 4 TOTALS: 3/4/5xxx level credits in area: 13 Total credits in area (IDIM only): 13 Not Complete: Credits (Term)