The discipline of folklore is a diverse examination of informal culture. Its subjects include stories, music, dance, drama, architecture, material culture, celebrations and patterns of belief, as well as customs related to work, leisure, childhood, family, aging, individuality and community.

While folklorists study traditions passed down through generations, they also consider expressive elements found in popular culture and media. Many look at modern phenomena, from urban legends to jokes, from hockey culture to skateboarding, from Ouija boards to tourism.

Folklore explores these customs as dynamic relationships between old ideas and new, individual creation and collective acceptance, local and global influences. And because folklore concerns the everyday, intimate practices of people, ethnographic field research is a vital part of its practice.

Folklore is a close cousin of several disciplines, including English, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, religious studies, ethnic studies, music and history, and so draws scholars and students from a wide variety of backgrounds.

---

The Department of Folklore offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in Folklore. The undergraduate programs include:

• Major in Folklore
• Minor in Folklore
• Joint Major in Folklore
• Honours Degree in Folklore
• Joint Honours Degree in Folklore and Another Major Discipline

There are three different pathways in the M.A. in Folklore:

• Courses and comprehensive
• Courses and thesis
• Courses and co-operative work term

The Department also offeres a Ph.D. in Folklore.