Politics and Folklore
Introduction
Folklore has often played an important role in politics. Political institutions and groups have their own rituals and traditions (think of the state opening of parliament), while parties, movements and regimes have also sought to draw on folklore as a legitimising and mobilising force. In this seminar we will explore the relationship(s) between folklore and politics.
Seminar Questions
- What role does myth, ritual and tradition play in political discourse and practice?
- How has folklore been used by political parties, movements and regimes?
Required Reading
Danglova, Olga, Human Affairs, 19 (2009), pp. 329-340
Christa Kamenetsky, The Journal of American Folklore, 85 (1972), 221-235
Peterken, Tabitha, 'Bloody Europe: Brexit and the Making of a Myth', in ed. Matthew Cheeseman and Carina Hart (London, 2022), 219-231
Further Reading
- Alessio, Dominic, and Robert Wallis (Manchester, 2025)
Kodish, Debora, '', Journal of American Folklore 124 (2011), 31-60.
Miller, Frank J. Folklore for Stalin (New York, 1990)
N煤帽ez Seixas, Xos茅 M., (London, 2023)
Tudor, Henry, Political Myth (Pall Mall Press, 1972)