final blog

Leeann Barrett
Final Blog
My time spent in this Introduction to Folklore was interesting. Initially I had that impression that this class would be mainly focuses on fairytale and folktales. I thought this class would be more enriching as opposed to just hearing and learning the fundamentals and what the world of academia already sorted out for us. I thought that maybe we would learn of other cultures and customs through their folktales and stories. Of course I understand that background is important and knowing what folklorist do but I truly hold strong to the idea that we should more get wrapped into the experience rather than know how to do ethnographic research. Coming into this class I thought that we would read and analyze the Disney tales like we did quickly in the mid section of the course. But in addition to that I thought that we would explore every corner of the world and not just focus on American adapted fairytales and the Grimm’s versions. Many of these tales started or are first noted to start elsewhere like in Africa. What about the stories Princess Scheherezade told? Instead of us just getting the option to chose what story we wanted to blog about out of the journal Marvels and Tales, I think that we should have first touched on all the corners of the world being that folklore does not only exist in America ( which in itself is an invented culture). Yes, we talked about customs and rituals that happen in America like what males do to woman during the half time show, and what slightly what happens during the Jazz festival. But maybe if we went into the dance of researched/ explores some of the stories and ghost stories that are told by the second- line performers.
I understand that there is a lot under the umbrella of folklore. Not one element is sufficient without the other. But I feel like this class became a little too much about the theory and then there was no real flow into the ethnographic research. The clamor to get to all of what is essentially folklore, made me lose focus of what the class is about. Being that this is an English centered class I think that the class should have been geared towards the stories and fairytales. Maybe in that beginning of the course we could have practiced small ethnographic research to simply get a feel of what it is and what people have to do in order to retain the information that we now have today.
The part of the course that I enjoyed the most was the section devoted to reading and analyzing the American fairytales; mainly because this was what I was looking forward to. To dissect the fairytales that we, in America, grew upon is what I dreamed I would have done at least once during my college career. I always have found it interesting to find the truth behind the tale and see what is really being embedded into or psyche from youth. (This idea is what captives me in the Zipes article.)
The part that I didn’t enjoy is the ethnographic reach. No t only because my research hasn’t workout as well as it would have if it was done during the fall semester but because I feel as though it and the reading were just thrown at us to get done an as soon as possible. The study I feel is rushed even if it does not intend to be. I felt like all of this reading, plus the deadline, on top of what is expected it over whelming.
In general,i honestly do not enjoy the course as much as i thought i would have. I think that this is mainly because i had many different views of what that classs would have been.I thought that the class would have been more open as opposed to locked in. Class has to have structure but that class was not as freeing as i believed that it would have been.
In my writing i know one of my strengths is analysis and seeing things that would not typically be brought out. Some of my weaknesses are proofreading and the fact that i tend to put myself in the situation with out first elaborating on how the person that is part of what i am writing about is feeling. Also finding the balance between what to elaborate on and how much to elaboration is needed. I do not really think i learned anything in this class that actually taught me how to fix my issues or that improved my weaknesses.

I honestly believe that i should receive a b in this class because i honestly have tried to improve on top of the fact that i have tried my best to do all that that professor has asked of us. I have also always been honest and spoke up and participated in class discussions.