FOLKLORE FIELDWORK PROJECT Assignment Overview The fieldwork project, as you can see by looking at the schedule, unfolds

over the course of the semester. This design allows you to mull over possible topics, go through the IRB approval process, complete the fieldwork and associated secondary research AND actually think about what you want to say about your findings. I want you to enjoy the process and create a product you will be proud of. I realize the vast majority of you will conclude your official folklore career when you complete this course, but I want you to think what you want to take away from the experience. Do you want to improve your skills in observation, analysis, research, and/or writing? Do you know as a global citizen you need to practice navigating the? Are you naturally curious and this kind of thing is fun for you? Or maybe youd appreciate a break from the typical assignment youve been working on for your other classes? Or maybe, just maybe, you want to make a contribution to existing knowledge and this is your big chance to do that? I truly believe that life is either too short or too long to waste any opportunity to dig in and make new knowledge, maybe meet new people, and hopefully stretch a little out of our comfort zones. I totally support you in doing this and will gladly be your cheerleader if your energy starts to flag, and I will be your coach when you need some help finding a focus or breaking through a logjam in your thought process. Without further ado, lets get this project started! Learning Outcomes o Apply understanding of key folklore concepts such as folklore genre, folk group, ethnography, and so on. o Identify a promising research subject and approach. o Engage in high-quality, respectful, ethical (and otherwise professional) field research. o Produce accurate, detailed field notes and other documentation that yield sufficient material to form a basis for analysis. o Make appropriate use of the many sources of information available to you as you investigate your subject, including interviews (required), other primary source material, first-hand observation, immersion, notes from ours and other classes, and of course, the immense body of information available through our library and in intellectual commons around the world. o Perform detailed analysis resulting in a meaningful conclusion to your field research. o Demonstrate an understanding of how culture shapes the production of folklore and the ways in which outsiders respond to and interpret that folklore. o Craft a professional final product that incorporates your field notes and other research in a seamless, compelling, insightful product (see below).

Selecting a Research Topic1 I recommend you start by identifying a folk group with whom you want to conduct fieldwork. You do not have to be a member of this group. Folk groups are semi-permanent groups and members interact with each other over a period of time. Your folk group may be based on occupation, age, region/where they live, ethnicity, family, gender, common interests, some combination of the above. It may also be simply a group of friends. Once you have identified the folk group you will work with, youll need to identify the objects, experiences, and so on that you want to explore. You may already know before you begin your fieldwork exactly what you are interested in. For example, if your folk group uses a lot of humor and tells a lot of jokes, you might focus on that aspect. Remember that folklore can be verbal, customary, or material, just for starters. Look, listen, and ask lots of good questions. Review the various available lists of folklore categories for ideas. If you do not know prior to beginning your fieldwork what kind of folklore your group performs, you may need to spend some time observing and listening in order to get ideas. Look for moments in conversation or other forms of social interaction when people begin to "perform" in some way. Also, look for moments of performance as well as what groups "specialize" in, or the ways they are "artistic." Look and listen for patterns. In other words, what verbal folklore, material objects, and customs make this group a group? Documenting Fieldwork The four main ways you will document your fieldwork will be through audio recording, video recording, photography, and note taking. Combine notes with at least one other method for the sake of accuracy and safety. Youll have more to work with if you have multiple resources to refer back to, and if you run into a problem with one, youll still have the other. Arriving at a Research Focus Once youve completed your fieldwork, you will focus on taking your field notes, incorporating other research, and creating the semester project. Here are some general suggestions to give you a place to start, but ultimately you will find the approach that works for your style and your goals. o Listen to your audio recordings of interviews, probably at least a few times. Take notes as you listen, recording the most interesting parts. Where is folklore most prominently being performed? What folklore genre(s) do you identify? o Transcribe the parts of your audio that you plan to draw from so you can really look at what youve recorded. You need to capture word for word what each person said and how they said it. I dont mind if you beg, pay, or barter for someone else to do your transcribing, but you MUST verify his/her work by listening and following along with the transcript. o Now its time to think about context. Perhaps the most important question you can ask is "What is the function (often there is more than one) of the folklore Ive documented?" Your thesis statement will be your answer to this question. Your
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Ive liberally borrowed from this source here and elsewhere in the assignment guidelines http://library.usu.edu/folklo/guide/context.part2.htm.

answer should be based on an analysis of the relationship between your folklore text and the context(s) that seem most applicable. A second way to discover your answer is to ask yourself, "What is this person/group trying to communicate?" Product Possibilities The final product must include certain features, but beyond these you are free to create whatever you think best as the result of your research. Depending on your own strengths, desired take-away knowledge or experience, time and other constraints, and so on, you should at least consider a product that incorporates both traditional text (some of this is requiredsee Checklist below) and other forms of media such as audio and/or video recording, still photographs, illustrations, and the like. You WILL get credit for degree of difficulty. We can discuss this as it relates to your individual project if that would be helpful. If you have questions about what youre producing along the wayand most of you will please check in with me for advice, confirmation, or re-direction. I dont want you to get too far afield and then find you dont have the time or energy to go a different way. Necessary Steps Leading to Final Project o The PITCH: a brief/rough positionality statement (see below) and two possible topics. For each topic, include a two-part topic statement2, a brief description (think fifty words or so) of possible fieldwork you would engage in, a mini-bibliography (see below), and a note about any anticipated barriers to researching your topic. o The PROPOSAL (a fleshed out pitchlimit it to a double-spaced page or two): what you will investigate and why, how you will conduct your investigation, when you will do each major step, and so on. o The IRB REVIEW AND APPROVAL process (explained on Trumans web siteI will help you out with this as much as possible). http://irb.truman.edu/student_help.asp o The FIELDWORK and the CONTEXTUAL RESEARCH (we will work on these steps at length in and outside of class) will be take place in dialogue with one anotherin other words, youll go back and forth between your informants and the library. o The BRAINSTORMING, DRAFTING, and PEER REVIEW process. o The CRAFTING and TWEAKING of FINAL PRODUCT. o The creation of an accompanying two-minute PREZI to PRESENT in classthink executive summary (we will discuss when it gets closer to time to be working on these). Positionality Statement (drafted for the pitch & revised for the final product) A positionality statement is a short piece (usually a page or so) where you identify who you are and the key features of your identity and experience which you believe shape your perspective, particularly as it relates to your chosen topic. Ive included a sample
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For example, I want to explore how women in my sorority create community through ritual and tradition or I will investigate the presence and meaning of material folklore in my mothers friend group or I am interested in identifying and understanding some of the patterns in college student humor as evidenced on Twitter, facebook and other social media.

positionality statement in our shared Dropbox folder along with some related files. You will need to follow the format of this sample statement as you craft your own. Mini-Bibliography (included as part of your formal proposal) Early in the process you will create a list of possible sources for your project. These should include identities of individuals you plan to observe or interview as well as at least two or three secondary sources (such as those that may provide useful context). This bibliography should be formatted using MLA style (see below). This is a mini- bibliography because you will almost certainly make use of sources other than these, but I want to make sure you have a solid start. Checklist for Submissionthese are MUST dos: o Have you explored every reasonable avenue of research that could help you create the fullest possible context for your analysis? o Have you complied with the terms of your approved IRB application? o Have you proofread and done a final edit for both content (especially sufficient illustration/example of any main idea you want to present) and presentation (including organization/packaging, editing, documentation of source material, and so on)? o Have you included each of the following items? a table of contents your final approved proposal, approved IRB, and complete Works Cited3 field notes that document at least two hours of interview material a CD or audio file of your complete interviews a transcript of the segments of the recorded interview(s) from which you ultimately drew for the project your final positionality statementmust follow the format of the provided sample (see above) your final product (see above and below), which must include a MINIMUM of 5-7 double-spaced pages of writing (more if your project is not multimedia)4 your two-minute executive summary Prezi to be presented in class Important Datessee syllabus

A Few Final Words I know Im repeating myself, but I feel I must. Be respectful, be inquisitive, be thorough, be bold, and be safe. Ohand enjoy yourself! I cant wait to see what you all come up with.
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All source material must be included on the bibliography and documented as appropriate with intext citations using MLA guidelines. As a starting point, visit http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ to read about MLA style and format. It is incumbent upon you to select a fruitful topic and approach such that you can create a significant research project. If you find partway through that youre not coming up with enough to say, youll need to tweak your focus and/or approach.