How to Teach Anthropology Through Folklore

Late medieval Russian dress for the upper class.

Cultural anthropology is the study of the artifacts of a society. It takes into consideration forms of artwork, dance, music, liturgy and even business techniques to form an accurate picture of a society. Folklore is the data that anthropology works with, the specific manifestations of the elements listed above. While folklore is the data, anthropology is the method of working and synthesizing the data. Therefore, folklore and anthropology are very similar, but adopt two different points of view. They must work together in order to develop workable ideas about a society.

Instructions

1. In teaching anthropology through folklore, it is essential that students realize that cultural artifacts do not randomly appear. They reflect the topography, climate and culture of an area. Hence, before anything else, these areas must be dealt with in detail.

2. It is essential that artifacts be presented to the students. This can include attending cultural festivals, watching videos, inviting native speakers or listening to native music. Students at this point should begin thinking of connections between the history and the artifacts being reviewed.

3. The next step is to encourage or require students to pick out recurrent, salient features in the artifacts examined. Is the geometry angular or circular? What are the dominant colors? Is the music dissonant or harmonious? What are the virtues that are being exemplified in these artifacts? Is there a stress on equality or hierarchy? These are the sorts of questions necessary to promote the proper scientific responses.

4. The next step forces students to take these salient features and then connect them to the history of the people. Such features, again, are not random, but derive from certain experiences in the context of a climate and topography. What are these? At this stage, students should begin doing research on their own, making close connections between the aesthetics involved and the causes of their salient features. This is normally a substantial challenge, but is central to critical thinking in this field.

5. Finally, the students must draw conclusions, not merely about the group under study, but on the relation between folk art and history, as well as climate and social experience in general. Ultimately, the purpose of cultural anthropology in its relation to folklore is to draw tentative conclusions on these relationships in a scientific manner.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient. Most students are not used to this complex form of thinking. Make certain that students realize that aesthetics is not just a matter of "preference," but derive from the sufferings and experiences of a people. Be as scientific as possible, but always be open to the fact that there is a moral code being expressed here. Avoid words like "quaint" or "archaic," it is not your job to judge, only to understand.

• The most serious warning is to make certain that students do not merely import modern ideas into older or foreign forms. Professors commit this error constantly, and one must be on guard to avoid this fallacious approach to this kind of education. This is a delicate field because the teacher is dealing with people as people, their very identity. Hence, experiences must be taken seriously. Meaningless buzz words such as "diversity" or "rich heritage" are unnecessary and redundant.

References

• Teaching Anthropology

Resources

• Social Organizations