Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
- American Folklore: An Encyclopedia.
(Ref. GR101 .A54 1996)
Ranging over foodways and folksongs, quiltmaking and computer lore, Pecos Bill, Butch Cassidy, and Elvis sightings, more than 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, and crafts; sports and holidays; tall tales and legendary figures, genres and forms; scholarly approaches and theories; regions and ethnic groups; performers and collectors; writers and scholars; religious beliefs and practices. Some 150 illustrations illuminate the material. The coverage is fully illustrated, cross-referenced, and indexed.
- Dictionary of Chicano Folklore.
(Ref. GR111 .M49 C37 2000)
Charts the rich religious, social, artistic, and cultural heritage of Mexican Americans, who continue to evolve the customs and rituals connected to their Spanish and indigenous roots and the Spanish language.
- A Dictionary of English Folklore.
(Ref. GR141 .S59 2000)
Containing 2,000 entries, from dragons to Mother Goose, May Day to Michaelmas, this reference work is an absorbing and entertaining guide to English folklore. Aimed at a broad general readership, the dictionary provides an authoritative reference source on such legendary characters as the Babes in the Wood, Jack the Giant Killer, and Robin Hood, and gives entertaining and informative explanations of a wide range of subjects in folklore, from nosebleeds and wishbones to cats and hot cross buns.
- Encyclopedia of American Folklife.
(Ref. GR105 .E53 2006) 3 vols.
Explores the rich cultural traditions of folklife in America. Covering notable folklife areas, it addresses religious groups, age groups, and contemporary folk groups.
- Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes.
(Ref. GR35 .S4 2001)
A wide-ranging and detailed investigation of folk heroes, both fictional and historical, from the earliest times to the present, taken from societies throughout the world as they exist in folktales, folksongs, customs, speech, and other folklore genres.
- The Dictionary of Medical Folklore.
(Ref. RC81 .A2 R56 1979)
An alphabetical listing of commonly held beliefs and old wives tales concerning health and medical conditions.
- Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art.
(Ref. GR35 .F63 1997) 2 vols.
Designed for students, scholars, and general readers, the work focuses on folklore forms and methods from a cross-cultural, theoretical perspective. It emphasizes those bodies of North American and European scholarship that have influenced each other most profoundly since the discipline's inception: Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and the United States. The entries, however, provide an introduction that facilitates the pursuit of more specialized topics and other bodies of scholarship.
- The Mythical West: An Encyclopedia of Legend, Lore, and Popular Culture.
(Ref. GR109 .S53 2001)
The A-Z entries in this volume look at everything from Jesse James to Baywatch, including such topics as: African Americans, John Denver, television heroes, white buffalo, women in the movies, Bonnie and Clyde, labor and newspapers. Presents a cultural journey down memory lane, which showcases how major Western figures, events, and places have been portrayed in folk legends, art, literature, and popular culture.
Handbooks & Manuals
- German Folklore: A Handbook.
(GR166 .D68 2006)
An accessible introduction to German folklore. The volume defines and classifies different types of German folklore. It also provides numerous examples and texts, along with a generous selection of illustrations. It overviews current scholarship and criticism and discusses the presence of German folklore in literature and popular culture. The work closes with a bibliography of print and electronic sources suitable for student research.
Magazines, Journals & Newspapers (hardcopy)
- Appalachian Heritage. 1973- (in Regional History)
Covers southern Appalachian life and culture.
- The Journal of American Folklore. 1936-1937; 1948; 1950-
Contains articles on all areas of folklife and folklore.
- Kentucky Folklore Record. 1960-1986.
Merged with Southern Folklore Quarterly to become Southern Folklore.
- Southern Folklore. 1989-2000.
Scholarly treatment of folklore and folklife of the south and Kentucky, including folktales, proverbs, riddles, folksongs, folk arts, speech, and customs.
- Southern Folklore Quarterly. 1937-1981.
Merged with Kentucky Folklore Record to become Southern Folklore
- TennesseeFolklore Society Bulletin. 1935-
Contains articles, book and record reviews, events information, and features reflecting the traditional culture and folklore of the mid-South.
Online Research Databases
- Academic Onefile.
Contains 11,000 academic journals, including some peer-reviewed, full-text articles. Journal articles cover a wide range of subjects, including psychology and the social sciences. Academic OneFile also contains full text of the New York Times, Financial Times, Times of London, and NPR Audio. Full text articles are available in both PDF and HTML format.
- America: History & Life. 1950s-
A complete bibliographic reference to the history, culture, and folklore of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present. Published since 1964, the database comprises over 530,000 bibliographic entries for periodicals dating back to 1954. Additional bibliographical entries are constantly added to the databases from editorial projects such as retrospective coverage of journals issues published prior to 1954.
- Dissertations & Theses. 1861-
Citations, abstracts, some "first 24 pages" and some full text for published doctoral dissertations and master's theses covering all academic disciplines from more than 1,000 universities. Abstracts are included only from 1980 to present. Selected titles from 1997 forward are available full text.
- Humanities Full-Text. 1984-
A bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language periodicals, plus the full text of selected periodicals. Periodical coverage includes some of the best-known scholarly journals and numerous lesser-known but important specialized magazines. Indexing and abstracting starts as far back as 1984 and full-text coverage begins in January 1995.
- General OneFile. 1980-
A one-stop mega-resource for journal and news articles - full text, abstracts, citations and images - from all general interest areas and academic disciplines.
- MLA International Bibliography. 1963-
Provides access to more than 1.6 million bibliographic citations to journal articles, books, and dissertations from 1963 to the present in academic disciplines such as: language, literature, folklore, linguistics, literary theory and criticism, and the dramatic arts.
- OmniFile Full Text Mega. 1982-
A multi-disciplinary database providing the complete content - indexing, abstracts, and full text - from six of Wilson's full-text databases.
- Southern Life.
Contains nearly 5 million full-text articles on topics that relate directly to Southern living, both past and present, including people, places, historical events and more.
Online Magazines, Journals & Newspapers
- ANQ. 1994-
(in Academic OneFile)
Contains scholarly articles on all aspects of British and American literature.
- Asian Folklore Studies. 4/1994-
(in Literature Resource Center)
Contains articles on Asian oral tradition, belief, medicine, and art.
- Folklore. [London] 1997-
(in OmniFile Full Text Mega)
Contains scholarly articles on all aspects of traditional and vernacular culture, worldwide.
- Journal of Folklore Research. 1998-
(in OmniFile Full Text Mega)
Contains articles on the theoretical aspects of world folklore.
- Oral Tradition. 1986-
(in Directory of Open Access Journals)
This online, open-access journal presents articles on dozens of traditions worldwide from ancient times to the present, and is fully searchable on-site.
- Western Folklore. 1995-
(in OmniFile Full Text Mega)
An academic journal devoted to the description and analysis of regional, national and international folklore and custom.
Associations, Organizations & Societies
- The American Folklore Society.
(http://www.afsnet.org)
An association of people who study and communicate knowledge about folklore throughout the world.
- North Carolina Folklore Society.
(http://www.ncfolkloresociety.org)
Founded in 1913, the North Carolina Folklore Society promotes the appreciation and study of North Carolina's folklife.
- Tennessee Folklore Society.
(http://www.tennesseefolklore.org)
Founded in 1934, the Tennessee Folklore Society is a statewide organization of professional folklorists, arts presenters, community scholars, and others who share an interest in preserving, studying, and celebrating the rich folk arts and cultural traditions of the mid-South.
- Western States Folklore Society.
(http://www.westernfolklore.org)
Founded in 1941, the Society is committed to the study of regional, national, and international folklore in all its aspects.
General Sites
- American Folklore.
(http://www.americanfolklore.net)
This site contains retellings of American folktales, Native American myths and legends, tall tales, weather folklore and ghost stories from each and every one of the 50 United States. You can read about all sorts of famous characters like Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Daniel Boone, and many more.
- Folklore Links.
(http://folklore.gmu.edu/links.htm#statesites)
Here one may find all manner o
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