Folklife
Encyclopedia
Folklife is an extension of, and often an alternate term for the subject of, folklore
. The term gained usage in the United States in the 1960s from its use by such folklore scholars as Don Yoder and Warren Roberts, who wished to recognize that the study of folklore goes beyond oral genres to include all aspects of everyday life including material culture
(craft
, vernacular architecture
, etc.). In Europe, especially Great Britain, Ireland and the Scandinavian countries, the study of folklife, called European ethnology
, manifests itself in folk museums. The journal 'Ulster Folklife' first appeared in 1955. 'Folk Life: Journal of Ethnological Studies' was first published in 1963 and is now issued twice a year. In the United States, the term is often used in the title of research-based folklife festivals presenting the full range of traditional culture including music
, dance
, storytelling
, crafts, costume
, foodways
, holidays, life-cycle rituals, and occupational skills. Folklife also includes the study of belief
systems, including folk religion
, folk medicine
, and popular beliefs (the term preferred over "superstition
s" by folklorists
).
When the American Folklife Center
, Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/, was created in 1976, the United States Congress
used the following definition:
"the term 'American folklife' means the traditional expressive culture shared within the various groups in the United States: familial, ethnic, occupational, religious, regional; expressive culture includes a wide range of creative and symbolic forms such as custom, belief, technical skill, language, literature, art, architecture, music, play, dance, drama, ritual, pageantry, handicraft; these expressions are mainly learned orally, by imitation, or in performance, and are generally maintained without benefit of formal instruction or institutional direction" See Public Law 94-201 http://www.loc.gov/folklife/public_law.html
Folklife is also the name of a festival in the northwest United States which draws people from all over the world. Performers and artists from everywhere come to showcase their talents. Folklife has grown to use virtually all parts of Seattle Center, utilizing many of the smaller buildings and facilities. It is estimated that over 200,000 people attend Folklife during the four day Memorial Day Weekend.
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. The term gained usage in the United States in the 1960s from its use by such folklore scholars as Don Yoder and Warren Roberts, who wished to recognize that the study of folklore goes beyond oral genres to include all aspects of everyday life including material culture
Material culture
In the social sciences, material culture is a term that refers to the relationship between artifacts and social relations. Studying a culture's relationship to materiality is a lens through which social and cultural attitudes can be discussed...
(craft
Craft
A craft is a branch of a profession that requires some particular kind of skilled work. In historical sense, particularly as pertinent to the Medieval history and earlier, the term is usually applied towards people occupied in small-scale production of goods.-Development from the past until...
, vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture
Vernacular architecture is a term used to categorize methods of construction which use locally available resources and traditions to address local needs and circumstances. Vernacular architecture tends to evolve over time to reflect the environmental, cultural and historical context in which it...
, etc.). In Europe, especially Great Britain, Ireland and the Scandinavian countries, the study of folklife, called European ethnology
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
, manifests itself in folk museums. The journal 'Ulster Folklife' first appeared in 1955. 'Folk Life: Journal of Ethnological Studies' was first published in 1963 and is now issued twice a year. In the United States, the term is often used in the title of research-based folklife festivals presenting the full range of traditional culture including music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, dance
Folk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
, storytelling
Storytelling
Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images and sounds, often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and in order to instill moral values...
, crafts, costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
, foodways
Foodways
In social science foodways are the cultural, social and economic practices relating to the production and consumption of food.- Definitions :...
, holidays, life-cycle rituals, and occupational skills. Folklife also includes the study of belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
systems, including folk religion
Folk religion
Folk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...
, folk medicine
Folk medicine
-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...
, and popular beliefs (the term preferred over "superstition
Superstition
Superstition is a belief in supernatural causality: that one event leads to the cause of another without any process in the physical world linking the two events....
s" by folklorists
Folkloristics
Folkloristics is the formal academic study of folklore. The term derives from a nineteenth century German designation of folkloristik to distinguish between folklore as the content and folkloristics as its study, much as language is distinguished from linguistics...
).
When the American Folklife Center
American Folklife Center
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC was created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife" . The center includes the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the Library in 1928 as a repository for American folk music...
, Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/, was created in 1976, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
used the following definition:
"the term 'American folklife' means the traditional expressive culture shared within the various groups in the United States: familial, ethnic, occupational, religious, regional; expressive culture includes a wide range of creative and symbolic forms such as custom, belief, technical skill, language, literature, art, architecture, music, play, dance, drama, ritual, pageantry, handicraft; these expressions are mainly learned orally, by imitation, or in performance, and are generally maintained without benefit of formal instruction or institutional direction" See Public Law 94-201 http://www.loc.gov/folklife/public_law.html
Folklife is also the name of a festival in the northwest United States which draws people from all over the world. Performers and artists from everywhere come to showcase their talents. Folklife has grown to use virtually all parts of Seattle Center, utilizing many of the smaller buildings and facilities. It is estimated that over 200,000 people attend Folklife during the four day Memorial Day Weekend.