Folklore Studies at the University of Oregon

The Folklore Program at the University of Oregon is one of a few major centers of folkloristic research in the United States. With more than forty participating faculty, our program provides an interdisciplinary approach to a Masters Degree, allowing students to create a focused course of study in their areas of interes t.

The Folklore Program offers perspectives on ethnic, regional, occupational, gender, and other traditional identities of individuals in specific societies. Students study the extent to which tradition continues to enrich and express the dynamics of human behavior throughout the world. Folklore courses examine the historical, cultural, social, and psychological dimensions of such expressive forms as mythology, legend, folktale, music, dance, art, belief, foodways, ritual and ceremony.

Theoretical analyses, research methods, and fieldwork techniques are integral parts of the program's curriculum. Graduate courses cover an extensive range of interdisciplinary topics: cultural heritage, ethnicity, subcultures, popular culture, performance, gender, film, religion, community arts administration, local culture and issues of diversity and globalization.

Folklore graduates work in a various public and private agencies as educators, archivists, editors, arts and humanities consultants, museum curators, festival planners and more.