Help Finding Schools?

[MythoNerd]

Hey y'all!

 

So I'm looking at trying to go into more the folklore/fairy tale/mythology aspect of anthropology, with my research interests lying in how gender and sexuality intersects with those previous topics. I already have U of Oregon on my list (my top choice, actually), but was wondering if anyone knew of any other programs that offered, at the very least, the folklore/fairy tale focus in their MA program. I want to apply to at least ten programs.

 

I would really appreciate if someone could help point me in the right direction.

[hj2012]

Berkeley and UNC come to mind as the "best" programs in folklore. What are you interested in methodologically? If I understand correctly, most folklore programs are heavily ethnographic or preservation oriented....and if you're interested in fairy tales and mythology this may not be the best "fit" for you.

 

Would you mind elaborating more specifically on your research interests? Depending on the exact boundaries of your interests, you may want to look into cultural studies programs or other interdisciplinary programs as well. 

[MythoNerd]

That's one of the reasons I've zero'd in on Oregon because (at least) two of their faculty study and teach the intersection of gender and folklore. Their student spotlight is currently on a PhD student who focused on folklore and bisexuality representation, which is important to me as a bisexual. I'm not too sure what I want to do beyond intersecting these ideas, but I've never been one to figure things like this out until the last minute. (Which is a terrible thing, I know, but I'm a much better writer if I'm pantsin' it. But that's not a good thing to put in an SOP.)

 

I don't really care about getting into the "best," just the ones that are the right fit for me. That's one of the reasons I'm applying to Berkley, but have pretty much already put it down as a guaranteed rejection.

[hj2012]

Hmm. In order to have a successful application season, I'd argue that you would need to narrow your interests down slightly more. At the very least, I'd try to identify a principal geographic area (e.g. folklore from the American South, folklore from East Asia, African folklore) and a principal time period (i.e., an interest in the American colonial period would differ from an interest in the American civil rights era, even if you were broadly interested in African American folklore). 

 

Have you considered any gender studies programs? I feel that your interests would thrive in a gender studies environment, and many programs allow you to pick a concentration in an allied field while pursuing a feminist studies or gender studies PhD (e.g. University of Kansas or Ohio State University).

[MythoNerd]

I've considered it, but I'm more passionate about the mythology aspect of it. I'm really interested in more the Greek mythology, but since no one really teaches about that, I was hoping to go maybe for Germanic folklore. But that's where Oregon and I conflict, because that is exactly what my POI studies and teaches, and I have heard that you don't want to be too much like your POI.

 

Granted, like you said, I probably could go for a feminist/gender studies degree and see how that works. I'm just not sure how make that work. 

 

I apologize for my cluelessnes. None of my family has ever gone past undergrad, and my adviser does not answer his emails during the summer. I'm on my own to figure this out.

[rising_star]

If you're really interested in mythology and Germanic folklore, you may want to look into literature programs, in both English lit and in Comparative Lit (esp if you have the language skills). That might help you find additional options and places where you can pursue your research interests. Good luck!

[hj2012]

haha, no worries! It's really hard to narrow down programs for those of us in interdisciplinary fields!

 

In terms of Germanic folklore -- how good is your German? To be totally frank, I can't see you being accepted to study Germanic folklore without advanced German language. It's usually a requirement to study these things in the native language. 

 

If you're primarily interested in Germanic folklore, then you should probably be looking at either German Lang/culture/lit PhD programs or CompLit PhD programs. For Greek mythology, you would most likely want to be in a Classics department, though that also presupposes a high level of ancient Greek. 

 

If your language skills aren't really up to par, you could turn your interests to reflect English literature, e.g. the circulation of Germanic/Greek mythology in the works of 20th-C feminist writers such as Angela Carter, or the utilization of Germanic mythos in feminist speculative fiction. Both of these projects would work well in cultural studies or gender studies departments.

[MythoNerd]

@rising_Star Thank you! I'm going to try to figure this out. (Note: Try)

 

Yeah, I don't have very much of a background in German. I am taking one year of Koine Greek this year (my fourth year of college), but I doubt that will be enough to get me through a program like that. Feminist/sexuality studies or folklore. Those are my two favorite things, and I really want to intersect them. I might email a few of the programs and see what I can do.

 

I'm just so overwhelmed by all this.

[rbargiel]

Although Ohio State's anthropology program doesn't much cover this, there's a good comparative studies department here that works with a lot of your interests.

[AKCarlton]

I don't know if this will be of much help, but a professor at my previous university was known for his folklore research. Taught an upper division course on World Folklore

(http://www.mayaguate.com/ant_599.htm) as well as the lower division that specificalyl looked at folklore from the anthropological perspective (http://www.mayaguate.com/ant209.htm)  .... He wrote an entire book on Mayan folktales:  http://www.mayaguate.com/

 

Maybe you can write to him for help in narrowing it down? His e-mail: James.Sexton@nau.edu

 

 

In addition to Latin America and Southeast Asia, he specializes in qualitative and quantitative research methods, psychological anthropology, life histories, folklore, development, modernization, and cultural change.

 

School Bio Website: http://nau.edu/SBS/Anthropology/Faculty-and-Staff/Sexton/

Edited July 13, 2014 by AKCarlton