Slovenian Oral Literature

Lectures are intended for giving students a thorough knowledge of Slovene folklore. The basic guiding principle of this course is based on the premise that folk culture is one of the most important and transparent forms of learning about ethnic characteristics, which represent the groundwork of the study of ethnology.
Oral literature as poetical structure (linguistic and music or stage form, style and manner of expression). Oral literature as a form of syncretic creativity (linguistic, musical, ritual, mimic, and dance intertwinement and linking in the ultimate whole). Oral literature as a social phenomenon (influence of environment; social changes; the degree of openness of folklore milieu; role of the individual or a group and their impact on spontaneous creativity; the impact of creators on their environment; and analysis of the bearers of creative processes). Learning about genres of folk literary and music creativity and about specific patterns and forms of creativity. Listening to audio material, analysis, classification, and field work. Applying the findings related to Slovene material to identical material of other ethnic groups and nations, and vice versa. Learning about relevant terminology: folk, popular, trivial, mass, etc., and their analysis within the context of domestic and foreign scholarly literature. Students become acquainted with traditional Slovenian oral folklore – legends, fairytales, poems, short folk formulas.