1434.16 - Oral tradition of the Faroes – outside the smoke room (MA)

1434.16

Oral tradition of the Faroes – outside the smoke room (MA)

5

Students must have completed the required core component of the BA in Faroese or the equivalent preconditions. It is also possible to complete the course as a separate course (see valid curriculum).

Following this course, students should: •Acquire a basic grasp of different meanings and uses of the concept of “cultural heritage” in various contexts. •Acquire insight into the re-use of oral tradition in modern culture. •Learn to conduct independent research projects. •Learn to imply relevant theories in the analyses of re-used oral tradition.

What role does traditional Faroese culture –ballads, chain dance, legends and fairy tales – play in the modern society? Traditional culture is often branded as something very “Faroese” and as something important to a national identity, but how do performers succeed in transmitting traditional material from a traditional setting into a modern context? Does re-use equal revitalisation or demise? How is traditional culture being used as a political tool and how does it affect a cultural practise, when it becomes a national symbol? At this course we will read texts on cultural sociology, heritage studies, memory studies and oral tradition. We will go through examples of modern usage of traditional Faroese culture, as seen in music, literature, visual arts and in movies. Formal features and traits of content will be studied. The question of how traditional material is being used, and what motivates the transmission will be dealt with.

Classes are held 3 hours a week in 7 weeks. Tutition is organised as lectures and student presentations and discussions based on the read material. Students will work on individual projects, that will form the bases of their final exam.

Student will get the skills to: Explain how traditional culture is being re-used. Analyze examples of re-used traditional culture, using scientific methods and based on relevant theories. Discuss re-use of tradtional culture in a specific Faroese as well as in an international context. Find and use relevant material and methods in the analyses of re-use of traditional culture.

Open home assignment - written paper (7-10 pages).

External

Preliminary bibliography: Excerpts from Wendy Griswold 2012: Cultures and Societies in a Changing World (Sociology for a New Century Series) 4th ed.

Tóta Árnadóttir