Module ARA3152 for 2017/8
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
ARA3152: Folklore and Identity in the Middle East
This module descriptor refers to the 2017/8 academic year.
Module Aims
To explore the co-existence of classical and popular traditions in the Middle East, and the continuing role of folklore in modern contexts
To provide an informed introduction to the academic debates and appropriate methodologies in the field
To give an introduction to the impact of theories of folklore and the folk, which had their origins in European romantic and philological traditions, in the Middle East.
To discuss the uses of folklore in discourses of identity, both by subaltern minorities and by dominant actors such as State governments seeking to create national identities
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate clear knowledge of various approaches to folklore study and of the importance of folklore in some states of the Middle East. 2. demonstrate familiarity with the major scholars working in the theoretical field of folkloristics and on the region. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. engage with theoretical debates on: the (European) concept of the folk, orality and literacy, performance and text, genre and gender in folklore. 4. analyse case studies looking at examples of folklore(whether verbal or material culture) and their use in context within the Middle East. 5. consider these examples critically, and be alert to examples of primordialism and essentialism 6. engage on, research and complete a case study of their own choice which will be the subject of an oral presentation |
Personal and Key Skills | 7. read theoretical literature and apply it to the context under discussion.. 8. contextualise sources, rank them according to relevance, write coherent and structured arguments 9. achieve clarity of oral expression and appropriate visual or other aids in making a presentation |