The Folklore program is dedicated to the study and advancement of folklore at UW-Madison and partners closely with local cultural organizations.
The Folklore program is one half of the Department of Comparative Literature and Folklore Studies at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. We offer a PhD in Folklore, a PhD minor in Folklore, and an undergraduate certificate in Folklore. An undergraduate major is currently in the works.
Our faculty and students focus on a wide variety of cultural areas, from joke-telling in the Upper Midwest, to fiber arts in Scandinavia, to immigrant narratives among Middle Eastern communities in Detroit.
We partner closely with several centers on campus, such as the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures and the Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture. Additionally, we collaborate with off-campus organizations like the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Many of our faculty members hold dual appointments in other departments, like Landscape Architecture, Scandinavian Studies, and American Indian Studies. Many of our courses are also cross-listed in other departments, leading to interdisciplinary collaboration with Anthropology, Design Studies, and Communication Arts, among others.
We pride ourselves in our strong focus on ethnographic and archival methodologies, and our faculty and students are continually engaged in collaborative fieldwork ventures in our local community.
