How folk traditions and folklore shape shared identity

Folk traditions and folklore are expressive culture shared by a group, passed informally from person to person through spoken instruction or demonstration. The lessons answer how myths shape shared identity and help readers understand how folklore relates to belonging and collective meaning. They consider the ways shared culture takes form and connects people.

2 articles, 1 video, 1 book · about 55 min of reading and viewing

The reading path

1. Read
   

   folk traditions and folklore · Wikipedia · 42 min read

   Folklore functions as shared identity within a common social group and differentiates between "us" and "them." Johann Gottfried von Herder's writings in the 1770s presented oral traditions as organic processes grounded in the locale. The St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York and other communities across the continent shows how folk traditions can present an ethnic group to outsiders and invite others to show solidarity with it. Such festivals intersect with public folklorists' work of documenting, preserving and presenting traditional forms of folklife. Folklore artifacts are commonly classified as material, verbal or customary lore. These categories cover physical objects; sayings, expressions, stories and songs; and beliefs and ways of doing things.

2. Read
   

   Seven Places in Europe That Legends Say Were Built by Giants, Devils or Dragons · Smithsonian Magazine · 7 min read

   Ceri Houlbrook says landscape features that stand out attract stories like a magnet. A deep gorge, a treacherous river crossing or a mountain full of caves could be dangerous, with extraordinary structures demanding explanations beyond human ability.

3. Watch
   

   Why do so many cultures have dragon legends? - Timothy J. Burbery · YouTube · 6 min watch

   Geological events could have inspired dragon legends in ancient civilizations. The open question is whether those tales were shaped to explain violent weather.

4. Book
   

   The Power of Myth · Bookshop.org

   The Power Of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers presents Campbell's view of mythology as the "song of the universe, the music of the spheres."

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