Studying Folklore

Ukrainian and general folklore classes investigate cultural themes including history, art, music, oral literature and calendar customs, giving students a wide range of topics to explore. Folklore classes are unique as they get you out of the classroom and practising applied research skills. Fieldwork - going out and collecting cultural information - is part of many folklore classes.

Open to students in all faculties. Instruction in English. Scholarships available.

Graduate Studies in Folklore

If you are interested in studying Ukrainian Canadian or other Ukrainian diaspora folklore and folklife on a Master or PhD level, the University of Alberta is the best place for that. Students have the choice of focusing on variety of topics: oral verbal traditions, material culture, ritual and belief, folk arts and performance genres. You can get a good idea of the range of topics by looking at the theses and dissertations by our graduate students. Prospective students should apply for the Media and Cultural Studies program at the Department of Modern Languages and Cultural Studies.

If you have any questions, email ukrfolk@ualberta.ca or contact the Director of the Kule Folklore Centre, Dr. Jelena Pogosjan.

Current Folklore Courses

FOLK 204 - Forms of Folklore - Fall 2022

Folklore is all around us. It is the process and the product of human cultural expression. People create stories, songs, festivals, foods, jokes, dances, games, and toys that are all forms of folklore. Folklore is also both old and new. It can be thought of in terms of traditional expressions - including the stories, songs, games, and proverbs that have been around for a long time. It is also modern, encompassing folklore which is constantly created and adapted to meet the expressive needs of the here and now. This course will acquaint students with forms of folklore and encourage them to examine artistic expression in everyday life.

SLAV 399 - Comics, Memes & Tattoos - Fall 2022

Comics, Memes, and Tattoos are all media that tell a story. They are forms of folklore that are common to many cultures around the world, both in the past and current in 21st century lifestyles. This course specifically explores expressions of resistance and solidarity in everyday life.

FOLK 205 - History of Folklore - Winter 2023

This course surveys the history of folklore studies, with particular emphasis on how folklore has been collected, written, transmitted, and studied from the 17th century to the present. At the end of this course, successful students will be able to define folklore and identify examples of folklore in a variety of genres and contexts, describe major trends in how folklore has been used and understood, and analyze how specific cultural objects or stories meet, fail to meet, challenge, or stretch conventional scholarly understandings of folklore and its place in cultures worldwide.

SLAV 320 - Early Ukrainian Canadian Culture

Did you ever wonder what it was like for the early Ukrainian settlers in Canada to adapt to the prairies and build strong communities for themselves? Have you questioned the connection between traditional culture and the evolvement of an ethnic community in a ‘new’ homeland? Do you have personal roots in the rich beginnings of Ukrainian Canadian culture? If you have asked yourself these questions, here is your chance to pursue the answers. More

Past Folklore Courses

INT D 439 - Ukrainian Dance

Discover how Ukrainian dance evolved from a common village practice to a highly popular art form. Dance around! Learn traditional dance steps and choreography and how they have been adapted for the stage. Great for the non-dancers or seasoned performers alike. Click here for more information and videos about INT D 439.

MLCS 299 - Graffiti

Course goals are: 1) to understand graffiti as social phenomenon with great diversity. We will explore interactions between motivation and form as we observe some graffiti writers who write tags, others who create art, and still others who express ideology. We will explore a variety of perspectives and commentary on graffiti. 2) to gain research design skills, explore "forensic" ethnographic methods, to hone skills in observing nuances in expressive social culture. The course will focus on Edmonton graffiti in its worldwide context, and will involve participation in a special photography and database project. Several class projects will be built upon analyzing the graffiti information we collect.

MLCS 632 - Folklore Research Methods

Explore the early history of Canada and Alberta's first and largest Ukrainian settlement period. This course provides participants with information about settlement history, natural and built transportation routes, adaptation of the natural landscape, spiritual culture, material culture and the importance of language and dialect in understanding culture.

UKR 327 - Early Ukrainian Canadian Culture

Explore the early history of Canada and Alberta's first and largest Ukrainian settlement period. This course provides participants with information about settlement history, natural and built transportation routes, adaptation of the natural landscape, spiritual culture, material culture and the importance of language and dialect in understanding culture.

UKR 324 - Ukrainian Culture

Examine Ukrainian culture in Ukraine and Canada with a focus on day-to-day life. Learn how beliefs and values are manifested in customs, traditions, art and spiritual culture and how they have transformed throughout history. Explore the links between elite and peasant culture and its impact on the present.

MLCS 204 - Forms of Folklore

Folklore is all around us. It is found in stories, songs, toys, foods, festivals, jokes, dances, games. University students tell jokes and ghost stories while oil workers practice initiation rites on new employees. Ethnic communities preserve their identity through folklore and showcase it to others. This course will teach students to recognize folk expression and ask them to do a collection project where they record an item of folklore and analyze it. The objective is to build awareness of the many meanings such expression may hold.

MLCS 205 - The History of Folklore

The course introduces the basic history and main concepts of folklore. Students explore numerous interesting examples from their immediate environment, as well as from the languages and cultures studied in the Department of MLCS. Folklore includes a wide range of expressive traditions (stories, customs, beliefs, songs, games, music, decorations, jokes, handmade objects, dances, tools, celebrations, and many others), learned informally and communicated in direct face-to-face situations. Folklore items are both durable and adaptable, allowing for variation. Some examples of folklore traditions are very new, whereas others have long roots into the distant past. Folklore items shed light on the cultural context in which they are produced, and on the people that produce them. The course will expose students to the skills of folklorists, which include the ability to observe their environment carefully, to appreciate and value local cultural expressions, library and archive research, qualitative analysis of mixed data, critical thinking, and communication (both interpersonally as well as in written modes).