Folklore, in the words of USC Anthropology professor Tok Thompson, is “the stuff we learn from other people.” Folklore can be anything from traditional proverbs, to local legends, to sacred mythology- anything that shapes a person’s worldview by way of their interactions with others. For USC Folklore Society founder Jordan Vieira, it’s “one of those fields which sits just beyond most students’ awareness, yet truly is a fundamental aspect of being human.”
Vieira, a sophomore double major in Political Science and Anthropology, began to develop an interest in folklore last year when he took a Native American studies class with Professor Thompson and continued to grow as he conducted research in Uganda over the past summer. He decided to form the USC Folklore Society a few weeks into the spring semester, after enrolling in Thompson’s Forms of Folklore class (ANTH 333m), as a way to help raise student interest in the study of folklore and hopefully increase submissions to the USC Digital Folklore Archives.
Says Vieira, “We all are, in a way, experts in our own folklore, and Prof. Thompson’s class exposes the student to this idea in addition to the many theories, genres, and techniques of folklore study. With the newly formed College minor in Folklore and Popular Culture, the creation of USC’s own Digital Folklore Archives, a new room in Doheny dedicated to the discipline, and the upcoming Western States Folklore Society conference being hosted at USC in April, I thought it would be prudent to form a club of like-minded folklore enthusiasts who could collaborate with one another and have fun helping Professor Thompson in developing and promoting the many folklore initiatives on campus.”
Jordan plans to pursue the minor in Folklore and Popular Culture and looks forward to a great year with USC FS. Currently, the Folklore Society is conducting officer elections and getting ready for the Western States Folklore Conference, which runs April 15-16 at USC. Those looking to get involved can contact him, jvieira@usc.edu, and keep checking the HC USC Calendar of Events for upcoming Folklore Society meetings!
http://college.usc.edu/folklore/home/