The Spanish Roots of Chicano
Folklore
Universidad de Castilla La Manch
Toledo
June 14, 2011
Agenda
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Topic: Folk Genres and Folk Groups
Reading: Oring—Preface, Chapters
BREAK
SEMIOTICS: KEY TERMS
What is folklore or folklife?
Historical perspectives:
• The term “folklore” was coined by W. J. Thoms
• William W. Newell defined folklore as “oral
tradition and belief handed down from
generation to generation without the use of
writing.”
• Difference between mythology and folklore
(1898)
• Redfield expanded the concept of “folk” and
“lore”
• Alan Dundes’ definitions of “folk” and “lore”
• It is still being defined and redefined
Genres of Folklore Study
• Oral Tradition and Performance
– Spoken word
– Song
– Dance
– Poetry
– Game, play and strategy
Genres…Festivals, Drama, Ritual
• Gesture, body movement and use of
space
• Seasonal and calendrical events
• Nameday celebrations
• Feast days
• Market days
Genres… Material Culture
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Artifacts
The Cultural Landscape
Foodways
Crafts and Trades
Folk Art
Folk Medicine
Genres… Occupational Folklore
• Language—jargon, verbal expressions,
jokes
• Practices and techniques: i.e. Anguila
• Customs and beliefs:
• “Cultural scenes” – flea markets
• Narratives – story of how something came
to be, explanations for beliefs
Ethnicity and other Folklife
Studies
Ethnic Folklore
• “Folklore plays a part in the definition of
ethnic groups which comments upon or
governs interactions between different
ethnic groups, which contributes to the
sense of an ethnic identity, or which
constitutes and contributes to any
ethnically based action (33).
Religious Folklore
• Folk religion and institutionalized religious
practice
• Secular and Liturgical practices
• Essential elements in festivals and
celebrations
• Studying the Corpus Christi Celebration in
Toledo
Folk Catholicism
• Definition?
• Recognizing elements of
• Studying cultural expressions
BREAK
Semiotics, Third Space Chicana
Feminism
and other Key Concepts
• Ferdinand de Saussure and the science of
signs
Semiotic Study of Culture
• Origins—De Saussure, Peirce
• Communication Process
• Key elements:
– Semiotics/semiology
– Signifier
– Signified
– Symbol/icon
– Cultural Contexts
• Thomas Kuhn and “Paradigm Shift”
• Gloria Anzaldúa’s “conocimiento”
Coatlicue State
• Chela Sandoval’s “differential
consciousness”
• Emma Pérez’s “Decolonial Imaginary”
• Third Space Chicana Feminism as a lens
for studying culture
Coming of Age and Life Cycle
Rituals: La Quinceañera
• Life cycle markers
• Essential Elements – Festivals and
Celebrations:
– Food
– Music
– Rituals
– Folk Beliefs