Folklore and the Bible
Religion 38
Fall 2009
Professor Niditch
Office: Chapin 114
Office Hours: Wednesday 2-3:30
and by appointment
Required Books at Amherst Books:
Joseph Campbell
A.B. Lord
James McGlathery, ed.
Susan Niditch
Vladimir Propp
Gene Tucker
Jack Zipes
The Hero With A Thousand Faces
The Singer of Tales
The Brothers Grimm and Folklore
Ancient Israelite Religion
Morphology of the Folktale
Form Criticism of the Old Testament
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
Sept. 8: Introduction
Sept. 9: S. Niditch, Ancient Israelite Religion, introductory ch. (reserve or buy).
1. Now that you have read this introduction, what most surprises you about Israelite culture,
history, or the nature of the biblical tradition? Bring a question or example to class.
2. What potential sources of folklore as described in our first class are suggested by or implicit
in this introductory reading about ancient Israel? What would you like to know more about
as we pursue our studies this semester?
Sept. 14, 16: Folklore and Hermann Gunkel
Readings:
Sept. 14:
F.L. Utley, “Folk Literature: An Operational Definition,” in A. Dundes, ed., The Study
of Folklore, 7-24 (xeroxed anthology).
Dan Ben-Amos, “Toward a Definition of Folklore in Context,” pp. 3-15 in A. Paredes
and R. Bauman, eds., Toward New Perspectives in Folklore (xeroxed anthology).
Alan Dundes, Interpreting Folklore, 1-32 (xeroxed anthology).
Axel Olrik, “Epic Laws of Folk Narrative,” in A. Dundes The Study of Folklore, 127-141
(xeroxed packet on reserve in Chapin Lounge).
For class, bring in one or more examples of Amherst folklore. What are some of the folk
groups at the College?
Sept. 16:
H. Gunkel, The Legends of Genesis, pp. 37-122 (xeroxed anthology).
S. Niditch, Folklore and the Hebrew Bible, 1-4 (xeroxed anthology).
Above are classic older pieces and some contemporary works. Questions and concerns
for our classes are 1) what is folklore, the discipline and the material studied, questions of
content and form; 2) who are the folk; questions of author and audience; 3) the legacy of
Hermann Gunkel, a Bible scholar of the early 20th century who recognized the value of
folklore as it was understood in his time.
1
Sept. 16: Write one page on Gunkel’s approach versus that of the modern folklorists. Does
Gunkel anticipate in any ways what the field would become? In class we will discuss.
Sept. 21, 23: Oral Versus Written: Composition, Performance and Transmission
Readings:
Sept. 21:
A.B. Lord, The Singer of Tales (reserve or buy). Read to p. 137 (skim portions as
described in class).
Bruce A. Rosenberg, “The Complexity of Oral Tradition,” pp. 73-90 in Oral Tradition 2
(1987) (xeroxed anthology).
Sept. 23:
Ruth Finnegan, “Oral Literature and Writing in the South Pacific,” pp. 22-36 in Pacific
Quarterly Moana, Vol. 7:2 (xeroxed anthology).
John Miles Foley, “Word-Power Performance and Tradition,” pp. 275-301 in JAF
105(1992) (xeroxed anthology).
S. Niditch, Folklore and the Hebrew Bible, 4-12.
S. Niditch, “The Composition of Isaiah 1” (xeroxed anthology, read Isaiah 1 in the
Bible).
D. Gunn, “Narrative Patterns” and “Traditional Narrative Composition” (xeroxed
anthology) and the OT passages with which Gunn deals.
For Lord, what distinguishes the orally composed work from the written work? What are
A.B. Lord’s contributions to the study of style and form in traditional literature and how
might these contributions carry over to the study of the traditional literature of the Bible.
How does Finnegan’s approach differ and with what significance? What does Foley’s
work add to the discussion?
Written Assignment Due Sept. 25: In a 3 page essay make a judicious case for the oral
composition of the plagues account in Exodus 7:1-12:40.
How might the “performance factor” influence the ways in which we approach the
traditional literature of the Bible? Is the line between oral and written works always
clear? Can a written work nevertheless be “traditional” in style and form?
Sept. 28: No class, Yom Kippur
Sept. 30: Collecting classifying and comparing “types” and “motifs”: the legacy of the HistoricGeographic School
Readings:
S. Thompson, “The Star Husband Tale,” in A. Dundes, ed., The Study of Folklore,
414-474, a classic example of the methodology and interests of Thompson's
school of scholarship (xeroxed packet on reserve in Chapin Lounge).
S. Niditch, Folklore and the Hebrew Bible, 12-18.
Gen 37-50; Ex 1-4, tales of Joseph and Moses.
D. Irvin, “The Joseph and Moses Stories,” in J. Hayes and J.M. Miller, eds., Israelite
and Judaean History 180-209 (reserve).
2
S. Niditch and R. Doran, “The Success Story of the Wise Courtier” (xeroxed
anthology).
What are the goals of Thompson’s own research? How successful are the above attempts
by OT scholars to employ the Indices? Must one share the Historic-Geographic or
Finnish School’s assumptions to make good use of the Indices?
Oct. 5: Guest lecture by John Miles Foley, Department of Classical Studies, University of Missouri
Oct. 7-Nov. 2: Women and Folklore: Case Studies in Exploring Versions of Traditional
Narratives
Oct. 7, 14: Women's Stories/Stories About Women
Readings:
Gen 18:1-15; 16:1-16, 21:1-21; 27:1-45, 38 (tales of the matriarchs); Gen 34 (the rape of
Dinah); Judges 4, 5:24-30 (the tale of Jael); Judges 11:29-39 (the tale of Jephthah’s
Daughter)
Grimm no. 31 “The Girl Without Hands,” in Zipes, The Complete Fairy Tales of the
Brothers Grimm (reserve or buy).
Jack Zipes, “Recent Psychoanalytical Approaches with Some Questions about the Abuse
of Children,” pp. 110-134 in J. Zipes, The Brothers Grimm (reserve).
S. Niditch, Folklore and the Hebrew Bible, 29-31.
Oct. 18:
Disney’s “Snow White” on Streaming Video.
Oct. 19, 21: What A Difference the Collector/Teller Makes. Traditional Narrative as People
Shaper
Readings:
Ruth B. Bottigheimer, “From Gold to Guilt, The Force Which Reshaped Grimms’
Tales,” pp. 192-204 in The Brothers Grimm and Folktale, ed. James McGlathery
(reserve or buy).
Jack Zipes, “Dreams of a Better Bourgeois Life,” pp. 205-219 in The Brothers Grimm
and Folklore, ed. James McGlathery (reserve or buy).
Grimm no. 53 in Zipes, The Complete Fairy Tales.
Kay Stone, “Three Transformations of Snow White,” pp. 52-65 in The Brothers Grimm
and Folktale, ed. James M. McGlathery (reserve or buy).
In class surprises from “Fairytale Theatre.”
Oct. 25: Disney's “Beauty and the Beast,” on Streaming Video.
Oct. 26: A discussion of Grimm 88, “Beauty and Beast,” (choose any version; samples available in
Chapin Lounge) and Disney’s film version .
Oct. 27: Disney's “Cinderella” on Streaming Video.
Oct. 28: Cinderella trajectories with help from Stone and Yolen
Readings:
Jane Yolen “America’s Cinderella,” pp. 294-306 in Cinderella: A Casebook, ed. A.
3
Dundes (reserve)
Kay Stone, “Things Walt Disney Never Told Us,” pp. 42-50 in Women and Folklore, ed.
Claire R. Farrer, Austin: University of Texas, 1975 (xeroxed anthology).
Grimm 21, in Zipes The Complete Fairy Tales, “Katie Woodencloak,” “Cap o’ Rushes,”
“Rushen Coatie,” “The Dirty Shepherdess” (xeroxed anthology).
Nov. 2: A guest lecture by Professor Margaret Mills, Ohio State University
Reading:
Margaret Mills, “Sex Role Reversals, Sex Changes, and Transvestite Disguise in the Oral
Tradition of a Conservative Muslim Community in Afghanistan,” pp. 187-213 in
Women’s Folklore, Women’s Culture, R.A. Jordan and S.J. Kalik, eds. (xeroxed
anthology).
Nov. 4: A biblical trajectory: 3 versions of the same story
Readings:
S. Niditch, Underdogs, ch. 2 and biblical texts mentioned there (reserve).
The Book of Esther
Apply what we have learned. Locate motifs and types. What is special about the telling
of this seemingly familiar tale? A feminist approach to Esther.
Written Assignment Due Nov. 6: Having studied ancient and modern versions of traditional
tales about women, you are asked in this essay to explore the “difference the collector/teller
makes” and some of the ways in which such tales reflect and shape culture.
Nov. 9, 11: Russian Formalism, methods of dealing with content and structure
Nov. 9: A brief lecture on biblical form-criticism: On Wholes and Parts and the Formation of Literary
Tradition.
Readings:
Gene Tucker: A Guide to Form-Criticism (buy).
V. Propp, The Morphology of the Folktale (buy).
A. Dundes, “Structural Typology in North American Indian Folktales,” in Dundes,
ed., The Study of Folklore, 206-15 (xeroxed packet on reserve in Chapin Lounge).
S. Niditch, Folklore, 18-20.
Jack Sasson, Ruth, pp. 196-252 (skim; reserve).
Ruth; 1 Sam 17:1-54; Gen 3:1-24; Judges 3:12-30, Ex 14:1-30.
Nov. 11: For class
Attempt a Proppian-style analysis of one of the Grimm tales in your anthology and of one
of the biblical tales assigned for today. Does this sort of structuralist analysis give you
insight into the tales? Do any of the biblical tales fit Propp’s outline of functions? Is
Dundes’ more simplified variety of patterning more helpful? The ways in which biblical
narratives do not fit Propp’s scheme may be as helpful in the ways in which they do fit as
we seek to learn more about the workings of various sorts of narrative. Does the Bible
contain any “Wondertales”? Discuss the boundary shared by form-criticism and Russian
Formalism.
4
Nov. 16, 18: From Propp to Lévi Strauss: Deep Structures, Myth, and Folklore in Context
Readings:
S. Niditch, Folklore, 22-23.
William Doty, Mythography, 192-213 (reserve).
C. Lévi-Strauss, “The Structural Study of Myth,” in T. Sebeok, ed., Myth: A
Symposium, 81-106 (xeroxed anthology).
Gen 1-11.
S. Niditch, Chaos to Cosmos, pp. 1-56 (xeroxed anthology).
Nov. 18: A guest lecture by Professor Marie-Hélène Huet, Princeton University
Lévi-Strauss, remember, is not concerned merely with texts but also with ethnography;
that is, as an anthropologist he tries to understand the roles that narratives play in human
lives and cultures. He is interested in the patterns of texts which reveal deep, underlying,
and recurring patterns of thought.
Written Assignment Due Nov. 20: Attempt a Lévi-Straussian analysis of one of the folktales in
your anthology and of one of the following biblical tales: Gen 27 (The Stealing of the Birthrite);
Gen 22:1-14 (The Binding of Isaac); Gen 38 (The Story of Tamar); Gen 32:22-32 (Jacob’s
Wrestling with the Angel). Is all narrative grist for the structuralist mill?
Nov. 23-27: Thanksgiving Break
Nov. 30, Dec. 2: Proverbs and Riddles: Classic approaches and structuralist influenced studies
Readings:
Dundes, “On the Structure of the Proverb,” in Dundes, Analytic Essays in Folklore,
103-120 (reserve).
Dundes, “Toward a Structural Definition of Riddles,” in Analytic Essays in
Folklore, 95-102 (reserve).
Dundes, “Proverbs and the Ethnography of Speaking Folklore,” in Analytic
Essays, 35-49 (reserve).
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, “Toward a Theory of Proverb Meaning,” in W.
Mieder and A. Dundes, eds., The Wisdom of Many, pp. 111-120 (xeroxed
anthology).
Niditch, Folklore, 67-87.
Written Assignment Due Dec. 4: After reading some essays about proverbs and riddles, attempt
a 4 page analysis of one of the following:
1. Samson’s Riddle (Judges 14:34) in the context of the larger narrative.
2. One proverb in Prov 11.
What pieces make for the whole? How do they combine to convey what sort of
messages? Be sure to make use not only of various structuralist approaches, but of the
motif indices as well. What transforms elements of content into particular, definable
literary forms? Also relevant to your analysis is A.B. Lord’s emphasis on “formula
patterns”and performance.
5
Dec. 7, 9: Psychoanalytical Approaches to Folklore: Psychic Contexts
Freudian and Jungian influenced works in psychology-and-folklore are numerous. This
semester we will read examples of Alan Dundes’ Freudian approach to folktales and
portions of Joseph Campbell’s, The Hero of a Thousand Faces, a work influenced by
Jungian and Freudian approaches. We will then test the usefulness of these studies for an
analysis of the tale of Joseph.
Readings:
William Doty, Mythography, 131-166 (reserve).
A. Dundes, Interpreting Folklore, 33-61 (reserve).
A. Dundes, “Interpreting Little Red Riding Hood Psychoanalytically,” pp. 16-51 in The
Brothers Grimm and Folktale, ed. James McGlathery (reserve or buy).
J. Campbell, The Hero, pp. 3-246; 315-364 (skim; reserve or buy).
Genesis 37-50.
Proverbs 1-9
Dec. 9: A guest lecture by Dr. Thomas Hersh
Dec. 14:
Anthropological and Sociological Approaches to Folklore, Community and Cultural
Contexts
On symbolism in a socio-cultural context see:
Victor Turner, “Themes in the Symbolism of Ndembu Hunting Ritual,” in John
Middleton, ed., Myth and Cosmos, 249-270 (xeroxed anthology).
Louis C. Faron, “Symbolic Values and the Integration of Society among the Mapuche of
Chile,” in John Middleton, ed., Myth and Cosmos, 167-184 (xeroxed anthology).
Mary Douglas, “Animals in Lele Religious Thought,” in Middleton, ed., Myth and
Cosmos, 231-247 (xeroxed anthology).
Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, “Culture Shock and Narrative Creativity,” in Richard
Dorson, ed., Folklore and the Modern World, 109-22 (xeroxed anthology).
On folklore as performance event see Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, “A Parable in
Context” in Ben-Amos and Goldstein, eds., Folklore: Performance..., 105-130
(xeroxed anthology).
Niditch, Folklore, 49-65.
Niditch, Ancient Israelite Religion, ch. 5 on ritual.
Dec. 16:
Written Assignment Due Dec. 16: Choose one of the following:
1. An anthropological-sociological analysis of one of the following rituals: Deut 21:1-9 (ritual
responding to an unsolved murder); Lev 14:1-20 (a ceremony for purification of the leper).
What is the content and structure of the ritual? What roles might the ritual play in a living
community? Examine the symbolism in the ritual to uncover essential cultural and community
concerns reflected in and affected by the ritual. Discuss the boundary shaped by ritual drama and
folk performance.
2. “Prophecy as Performance in a Socio-Cultural Context: A close analysis of 1 Kgs 20:26-43.”
6