Study Guide for Exam II – GC2Y ~ Magoulick
NOTE: This second exam will be very much like the first, except that it will not have the reading identification questions, but it WILL have the addition of a long essay question. Also, the short answer essay questions will be even shorter (maybe just a sentence) and you will have to answer MORE of them. There will also still be some objective questions. For the LONG essay answer, which is worth substantially more points (than any other question on the exam), you should write substantially more, usually at least 5 paragraphs (about 2 pages in most handwriting). So timing will be important for this exam. Leave yourself about a half hour to answer the long essay. You are responsible for EVERYTHING (readings, films, lectures, all in-class examples, etc.) that we have studied since the first exam for the objective and short answer questions. The essay questions may also draw from more general concepts of studying folklore that we learned earlier in the semester. And the examples you use to demonstrate your understanding and analysis for the long answer essay may be from anything we have officially studied in class the whole semester thus far.
See your syllabus for a list of readings assigned up to this point (since the first exam).
Films you are responsible for: Monsters: Mysteries or Myth?; The Truth Behind: The Bermuda Triangle; The Quiltmakers of Gee's Bend, The Stone Carvers, Barging through France: The Visible and Invisible, and short films from class on Maria Martinez; slam poetry and the various other music and poetry (like Suheir Hamad reading "First Writing Since")
Be prepared to answer questions on all the lectures, films & readings.
Why do folklorists study the stories of other cultures?
What do monster legends reveal about human nature?
What are some reasons people believe in monsters or continue to circulate stories about them?
What is the consensus of scientists about these monsters?
What are the typical proofs offered in all kinds of legends?
How can stories from long ago still be considered "legends"?
What is the difference between a rumor and a legend?
What is the purpose of legends?
How are urban legends different from local legends?
What are some kind of legends and their functions (teenage, food contamination, etc.)
What pseudo proofs are offered for legends and why are they “pseudo”? (What is FoaF?)
Define joke and riddle. Be aware of their function and circumstances in which they are used. Give examples of each.
Be familiar with these names in the study of folklore (and their contributions): Jan Brunvand, Elliot Oring, Ruth Finnegan.
What is a likely function of disaster jokes?
Which is (are) the most common genre(s) of narrative in our culture?
What does our reading explain about jokes?
What's the difference between a malevolent and benevolent practical joke (examples?)?
Why do people tell riddles?
What are the two main types of riddles (enigma and conundrum)? And how do they differ?
What are the answers to the riddles from class (for instance the 2 doors, 2 guards, one question)?
What is a metaphor and how does it relate to various examples from this section?
Be prepared to discuss the various examples of several TYPES of jokes (see website).
What are the main characteristics of oral poetry?
What is a ballad? What is a lyric song? What is an epic? What is the difference?
Explain similarities and differences between oral and written poetry?
Give an example of an oral poem.
What does mnemonic mean? How does it apply to oral poetry?
What are some distinguishing features of poetry? What is metaphor, alliteration, rhythm, etc.?
How does music connect to poetry?
How is music connected to ritual, dance, story, and poetry?
What is ethnomusicology?
What are characteristics of folksongs?
What is the appeal of folksongs?
Be prepared to discuss the various examples of music and oral poetry listened to in class
What are the three main classes of musical instruments (from class) and know some variations of each.
Be prepared to describe some influences on American music from around the world.
Discuss styles of contemporary music and their roots.
NOTE: You are also responsible for questions on material culture, including folk art and folk craft.
What is the difference (and similarity) between folk art and fold craft?
What kind of examples of folk art did we study in class?
Where is Acoma? What is their main form of art?
How does tourism affect folk art?
What are the main colors used in Acoma art?
Can yard art be considered folk art? How so?
Be prepared to discuss the various examples of material culture we studied: Acoma pottery, French stonemasonry and Gee's Bend quilts.
What does Maria Martinez do to thank the Great Spirit before she gathers clay to make her art?
What characterizes all the examples of folk art we saw in class?
How do the stone carvers (from Italy) in our film feel about their work? (Give examples)
What does it mean to "steal carve"?
What are the two methods of stone carving from the film?
Why is working with stone important to Dany (in France)?
What does carving stone and using it for things like making roads make Dany (in France) think of?
How does any of the art from folk artists you have seen reflect both the personality/individuality and the community of the artist?
What are Girouettes?
How does Claude Delton play iwth the visible and the invisible?
What is quilting?
Why is it remarkable that the Gee's Bend quilters are now being considered as great artists?
Who "discovered" the Gee's Bend quilters?
Who admires the Gee's Bend quilters?
Name some specific Gee's Bend quilters and the quilts they make and discuss what you (or others) like about them.
What is Unstandardized Multiple Variation? To which examples from this section does it apply?
BE PREPARED TO WRITE ESSAY QUESTIONS on topics from earlier in the semester, including (be sure you remember definitions of these terms and how they relate to our various examples from the whole semester):
Tradition
Dynamism
Culture
Folklore
Also, be able to discuss issues such as:
How studying folklore can be considered political
How when studying folklore, context is important.