Folklore

Guides || Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and Handbooks || Tale Type- and Motif-Indexes || Indexes, Abstracts, and Full Text Sources || Bibliographies and Catalogs || Internet Sources

GUIDES.

American Regional Folklore: A Sourcebook and Research Guide. 2004.: Guide to conducting regional folklore library research (as well as research in the community) and overview essays, annotated bibliographies, and a directory of resources for eight regions of the U.S. Mugar Ref. X GR 105. 34 M66 2004.

Folklore and Folklife: A Guide to English-Language Reference Sources. 2 vols. 1992.: Annotated guide to reference works (primarily books) on folklore and folklife. Chapters cover general works, history and study of folklore/folklife, folk literature, ethnomusicology/folk music/folk dance/folk instruments, folk belief systems, folk rituals/rites, material culture, and folklore/folklife societies and journals. Mugar Ref. X Z5981 S74 1992.

Mythical and Fabulous Creatures: A Source Book and Research Guide. 1987.: Reference and research guide to fabulous creatures in history, literature, and art. Includes such creatures as dragons, fairies, unicorns and vampires. Mugar Ref. X GR825 M87.

DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, AND HANDBOOKS.

American Folklore: An Encyclopedia. 1996.: Contains 500+ articles on American and Canadian folk culture, including genres; ethnic, immigrant, and occupational groups; individuals; holidays; arts and crafts; and music. Topics range from quilt making to Ouija, computer folklore to Friday the 13th. Mugar Ref. X GR101 A54 1996.

Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature: A Handbook. 2005.: Encyclopedia essays on approximately 175 of the most common archetypes and motifs found in folklore and literature around the world. Arranged by broad category, including mythological motifs, tabu, magic, the dead, and ogres. Entries are keyed to the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature. Mugar Ref. X GR72.56 A73 2005.

A Dictionary of English Folklore. 2000. (BU-px).: " Guide to English folklore and an authoritative reference source on such legendary characters as Cinderella, Jack the Giant Killer, and Robin Hood. "


Dictionary of Imaginary Places. 2000.: Guide to 1000+ imaginary places from literature (e.g., Oz, Middle Earth). Includes mythology, fables, classical history. Contains maps and bibliography. Mugar Ref. X GR650 M36 2000.

A Dictionary of Superstitions. 1996. (BU-px): " Dictionary covering the wide range of folk beliefs that have survived into our own age. Each superstition is illustrated by quotations tracing its development through the centuries. "
Encyclopedia of American Folklife. 4 vols. 2006.: From "adolescents" to "zydeco" the 350+alphabetically-arranged entries cover oral, material, and social genres and a wide range of American groups and communities. Topics include Little League baseball, recreational vehicle communities, cockfighting, and snake-handling sects. There are geographical and cultural indexes. Mugar Ref. X GR105 E53 2006.

Encyclopedia of Christmas. 2000.: Includes approximately 200 entries on the history, legends, folk customs, religious observances, and symbols of Christmas and related days worldwide. Mugar Ref. X GT4985 E45 2000.

Encyclopedia of Easter, Carnival, & Lent. 2002.: Contains 150+ entries covering the history, myths, legends, customs, religious observances, related holidays, and symbols of Easter, Carnival ,and Lent, worldwide. Mugar Ref. X GT4935 G85 2002.

Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes. 2001.: Encyclopedia of legendary, historical ,and magical heroes from world folk tales, legends, and songs. Excludes mythical gods and heroes of literary epics. Includes an index of heroic types (for example, animals, children and children's heroes), a country/culture index, and a chronology of folk heroes from the 9th century B.C. to the 20th century. Mugar Ref. X GR35 S4 2001.

Encyclopædia of Folklore and Folktales of South Asia. 15 vols. 2003.: Discusses ancient legends, popular beliefs and folktales of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tibet, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Indonesia. Mugar Ref. X GR302 E53 2003.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. 5 vols. 1965.: Edited by Francis James Child, this work presents the text and variations of 305 Scottish and English ballads (now known as Child ballads), together with commentary about the ballads. Mugar Ref. X PR1181 E82.

Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art. 2 vols. 1997.: Cross-cultural encyclopedia of folklore forms (ballads, legends) and methods of inquiry and analysis (linguistic approach, historic-geographic method). Entries, which include such topics as Xeroxlore, computer-mediated folklore, and vampires, include references for further reading. Mugar Ref. X GR35 F63 1997.

The Folklore of World Holidays. 1992.: Arranged by the Gregorian calendar (January 1 to December 31), this work describes 340+ holidays in 150+ countries, excluding the U.S. With few exceptions (e.g., Bastille Day, Cinco de Mayo), political holidays are excluded. Mugar Ref. X GT3930 F65 1992.

Funk and Wagnall's Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend. 1984.: Comprehensive encyclopedia and dictionary dealing with worldwide gods, heroes, tales, motifs, customs, beliefs, songs, dances, games, proverbs, etc. Mugar Ref. X GR35 F82 1984.

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore. 3 vols. 2006.: From "Abakwa" to "Zydeco," the 700 entries cover African American folk culture, folklore scholars, foods, material culture, music, religion, and more. An appendix lists folklife programs, cultural centers, museums, and archives for African American folklore. Mugar Ref. X GR111 A47 G74 2006.
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales. 3 vols. 2008.: International in scope and spanning antiquity to the present, this work contains nearly 700 alphabetically-arranged entries on the scholarship of fairy tales and folktales. Entries include characters and character types, genres, geographical essays, individuals, national traditions, themes and motifs, and other topics. Mugar Ref. X GR74 G73 2008.

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife. 4 vols. 2005.: Four-volume encyclopedia surveying "the world's folklore heritages in a way that emphasizes the international nature of folklore in general and of specific folklore materials, while placing folklore within particular cultural milieus." Volume 1 begins with thirty-nine articles "on processes, research tools, social and intellectual movements, and concepts important for understanding folklore on an international, intercultural basis." The remaining 200+ entries are arranged geographically by continent/ region. Mugar Ref. X GR35 G75 2006.
Handbook of American Popular Culture. 2nd. ed. 3 vols. 1989.: Contains bibliographic essays on various aspects of American popular culture, including death, foodways, graffiti, and the occult. Mugar Ref. X E69.1 H2643 1989.

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 26 vols. 2001.: Includes essays on folk religion and folklore. Mugar Ref. X H41 I58 2001. Available (abstracts only) on the BU Web through ScienceDirect (BU-px).

Larousse Dictionary of World Folklore. 1995.: Dictionary of more than 1500 folklore terms, motifs, archetypes, and figures (historic and fictional); a biographical guide to 37 prominent folklorists; a list of international folklore/ethnic museums; and a calendar of festivals and folklore events. Mugar Ref. X GR35 J664 1995.

The Mythical Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Animals in World Myth, Legend, and Literature. 2001.: From ants to wrens, lengthy essays describe 50+ aninals in anthrozoology, myth, and legend. Illustrated with medieval prints, editorial cartoons, and advertisements. Entries include bibliographies. Mugar Ref. X GR705 S344 2001.

The Penguin Dictionary of American Folklore. 2000.: Contains 750 entries (including brief definitions and lengthy essays) on American folklore, tradition, and popular culture. Mugar Ref. X GR105.34 A94 2000.

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. 5 vols. 2000.: Contains 2700 + entries on the events, ideas, people, and products that symbolize the U.S. Essays include bibliographies. Mugar Ref. X E169.1 S764 2000.

Storytelling Encyclopedia: Historical, Cultural, and Multiethnic Approaches to Oral Traditions Around the World. 1997.: Contains 700+ encyclopedic entries on oral traditions, themes, motifs, characters, storytellers, scholars in the field, and classic stories. A separate section contains articles on different aspects of storytelling. Mugar Ref. X GR72 S76 1997.

TALE TYPE- AND MOTIF-INDEXES.

Motif-Index of Folk-Literature: A Classification of Narrative Elements in Folktales, Ballads, Myths, Fables, Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Fabliaux, Jest-Books, and Local Legends. 6 vols. 1955-1958.: Usually referred to as Stith Thompson (the author), this is an alpha-numeric classification system for the motifs (incidents, actors, and items) found in traditional narrative literature. Consists of a decimal classification scheme of 23 main divisions and detailed subdivisions, and an alphabetical index of motifs. Mugar Ref. X GR67 F55.



The Types of the Folk-Tale: A Classification and Bibliography. 1971.: Referred to as Aarne-Thompson, this is a classification system for tale types found in Indo-European folktales, first compiled by Antti Aarne and revised by Stith Thompson. Tale types are story lines, whereas motifs (classified by Thompson, above) are smaller narrative units. Mugar Ref. X GR40 A1513 1971.

Types of the Folktale in the Arab World: A Demographically Oriented Tale-Type Index. 2004.: "T ypes of the Folktale in the Arab World is an index and preliminary analysis of folktales told by the diverse ethnic groups that populate what is commonly called "the Arab World." It is also a comprehensive and interdisciplinary guide to tales told in related cultural spheres, from sub-Saharan Africa to Turkey and beyond." Mugar Ref. X GR268 A73 E42 2004.

INDEXES, ABSTRACTS, AND FULL TEXT SOURCES.

Abstracts of Folklore Studies. 1966 - 1975.: Before ceasing publication in 1975, this work indexed more than 80 journals on all aspects of folklore. Mugar Ref. X GR1 F63.

America: History and Life. 1964 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts the periodical literature and dissertations on North American history, culture, and folklore, from prehistoric times to the present.

Anthropological Index. 1957 - . (BU-px).: "The Anthropological Index Online is based on the journal holdings of The Anthropology Library at the British Museum (formerly Museum of Mankind) which receives periodicals in all branches of anthropology, from academic institutions and publishers around the world." (BU-px).

Anthropological Literature. Late 19th century to the present. (ChRiv-px).: Comprehensive international index to articles and essays on anthropology and archaeology, including art history, demography, economics, psychology, and religious studies. Updated quarterly, Anthropological Literature indexes articles two or more pages long in works published in English and other European languages from the late 19th century to the present. Includes the complete contents of Anthropological Literature: An Index to Periodical Articles and Essays (1979-2002) Mugar Ref. X GN1 A65M.

Anthrosource. Late 19th century to the present. (ChRiv-px).: Developed by the American Anthropological Association (AAA), Anthrosource brings 100 years of anthropological material online, including: a complete electronic archive of all AAA journals through 2003; seamless access to archival content housed at JSTOR for 6 key AAA publications including American Anthropologist; and current issues for 15 of the AAA's most critical peer-reviewed publications.

Arts and Humanities Citation Index. 1975 - .: Provides author, subject and citation access to the literature in folklore, linguistics, and archaeology. Includes book reviews. Mugar Ref. X Z5937 A795; (1975-1998). Searchable on the BU Web as Web of Science (1978- ) (BU-px).

British Humanities Index. 1965 - .: Indexes British periodical literature in the humanities, including folklore. Mugar Ref. X AI3 F62.

Centennial Index: 100 Years of American Folklore. 1988.: A one-hundred year index to the Journal of American Folklore. Mugar Micro X GR1 E88 Index.

Ethnic NewsWatch. 1990 - . (BU-px).: A comprehensive full text database of the newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic, minority, and native press. (BU-px).

FRANCIS. 1984 - . (ChRiv-px).: Multilingual, multidisciplinary index to journals in the social sciences and humanities.

Historical Abstracts. 1955 - . (BU-px).: Indexes and abstracts periodical literature and dissertations on world history (excluding the U.S. and Canada), from 1450 to the present. Look here for articles on folklore and folklore studies. .

Humanities Full Text. 1983 - . (ChRiv-px): Indexes and abstracts periodical literature in the humanities. Includes full text of articles from nearly 250 journals as far back as 1995. For retrospective searching (1907-1984) use Humanities and Social Sciences Retrospective, which indexes nearly 1,200 periodicals as early as 1907.

JSTOR. (BU-px).: Archive of scholarly journals in electronic format, digitized from the first issue onward to a "moving wall" of two to five years ago.

MLA International Bibliography. 1926 - . (BU-px).: International index to journals, series, monographs, working papers, bibliographies and dissertations on modern languages, literature, linguistics and folklore. (BU-px).

BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND CATALOGS.

American Folklore: A Bibliography, 1950-1974. 1977.: Contains 3600 citations to books and journal articles on American folklore. Brief annotations. Mugar Z5984 U6 F55.

Catalog of Folklore, Folklife and Folk Songs. 3 vols. 1978.: Catalog of the folklore holdings of the Cleveland Public Library. Arranged alphabetically by subject. Mugar Ref. X Z5985 C5 1978M.

Contemporary Legend: A Folklore Bibliography. 1993.: An annotated bibliography of contemporary legends (e.g., Elvis sightings, vanishing hitchhiker), containing chapters on anthologies, introductions and overviews, theoretical and technical studies, texts and case studies. Mugar Ref. X Z5981 B46 1993.

Folklore and Literature in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography of Studies of Folklore in American Literature. 1984.: Surveys the literature of folklore in the works of American authors. Mugar Ref. X Z1225 J66 1984.

Folklore and Literature of the British Isles: An Annotated Bibliography. 1986.: Annotated bibliography of 1000+ articles and books written between 1890 and 1980, with tale type, motif, Child ballad, and subject indexes. Mugar Ref. X Z2014 F6 B34 1986.

A Guide to Folktales in the English Language. 1987.: A guide to locating texts of standard versions and variants of folktales. Arranged by Aarne-Thompson classification system (see The Types of the Folk-Tale: A Classification and Bibliography, in the "Tale Type- and Motif-Indexes" section), with a keyword/title index. Mugar Ref. X Z5983 F17 A83 1987.

Jewish Folklore: An Annotated Bibliography. 1986.: Annotated list of 1300+ books and articles arranged alphabetically by author, with a subject index. Mugar Ref. X Z6374 F6 Y37 1986.

Tale Type- and Motif-Indexes: An Annotated Bibliography. 1987.: Introductory essay on the history of tale type- and motif-indexes, and an annotated bibliography of 186 tale type- and motif-indexes. Mugar Ref. X Z5983 L5 A98 1987.

Women and Folklore: A Bibliographic Survey. 1983.: Contains essays and citations to 1664 English-language publications on various aspects of women and folklore. Mugar Z5983 W65 D4 1983.

INTERNET SOURCES.


American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.: Provides information on the activities, publications, and holdings of the American Folklife Center, which was established by Congress to "preserve and present American folklife."

American Folklore Society.: "Founded in 1888, the American Folklore Society serves to stimulate interest and research in all aspects of the study of folklore and folklife. The Society exists to further the discipline of folklore studies, to improve the professional well-being of its members, and to increase the respect given to diverse cultures and their traditions."

Folklife and Fieldwork: A Layman's Introduction to Field Techniques.3rd ed. 2002.: American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, guidebook to conducting folklife and folklore fieldwork. Folklife research can encompass family life, oral tradition, and material culture. Includes tips on interviewing and tape recording, and sample forms.

Folklife Sourcebook: A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States. 3rd ed. 1997.: Chapters of this online-only edition include directories for graduate folklore programs, folklore organizations, archives, publishers, mail order dealers, an introduction to folklore resources in Canada and Mexico, and more.

Folklore, Myth and Legend.: Links to folklore reference sources, online fairy tales, folktales, legends, and myths, and to resources on specific tales, such as Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Snow White.
Folkstreams.net: The Best of American Folklore Films.: Folkstreams preserves documentary filmsabout American traditional culture and provides streaming video access to them via the Internet. Searchable by title, filmmaker, distributor, region, and subject.

Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.: The festival of American Folklife and other Smithsonian folklife activities are featured at this Web site. Extensive links to additional resources on folklife and traditional culture.

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