F101 Fall 2024 - First Exam Study Guide PDF

Week 1 reading: - Folklore is not confined to old-fashioned or outdated ideas, nor does it mean that folklore is necessarily untrue. - Three levels of culture - Folk Culture is traditional, informally learned culture, usually passed down through generations within a...

Week 1 reading: - Folklore is not confined to old-fashioned or outdated ideas, nor does it mean that folklore is necessarily untrue. - Three levels of culture - Folk Culture is traditional, informally learned culture, usually passed down through generations within a group. - High/Elite Culture: This culture is associated with the upper classes, often learned through formal education and considered more refined, like opera or classical literature. - Popular Cultuis is mainstream culture that is widespread, mass-produced, and usually consumed by large audiencessuch aske movies, pop music, and fashion. - Blending of culture levels and examples - Elvis Presley: While he was part of popular culture, his music incorporated elements of folk traditions (such as gospel and country) showing the blending of cultural levels. - Children’s Games are examples of folklore, though aspects of these games might also intersect with popular culture, especially if they are commercialized or widely known. - Folklore is largely informally learned - Folklore is not learned through formal education but informally, often from family members, peers, or community traditions. This informal transmission is critical to its ongoing relevance and continuity within a group. - Folklore as Creative/Expressive Behaviors - Folklore often manifests through creative or expressive behaviors. These are actions, performances, or objects created by members of a community to reflect their shared values and traditions. Examples might include storytelling, crafting, or customs like dances or rituals. - Three major categories of folklore - Verbal: This includes folklore expressed through words, such as myths, legends, folktales, jokes, or proverbs. - Material: These are physical objects that carry cultural significance, such as quilts, tools, or foods. - Customary: This category involves traditions or practices, such as rituals, festivals, games, or dances Week 1 Lecture: 1. **Why did we suggest that you “already know” what folklore is? What examples were used? (Slides 2-11)** The lecture suggests that you "already know" what folklore is because it is present in everyday life and experiences. It uses common expressions, phrases, and childhood games as examples to illustrate that folklore is deeply embedded in daily activities. Examples include: - Phrases like "You can’t teach an old dog new tricks" or "Never judge a book by its cover" (folk wisdom).  - Games like "Rock, Paper, Scissors" or the concept of deciding "Who is 'It'?" in childhood games. These examples show that folklore consists of shared cultural knowledge that is often learned informally and passed down through interactions with others. 2. **Is folklore a disappearing cultural phenomenon? (Slides 12-13)** No, folklore is not a disappearing cultural phenomenon. The slides emphasize that folklore continues to evolve and remain relevant by connecting to language, mind, and contemporary life. It adapts to new circumstances, ensuring that it stays a vital part of human culture despite changes in society. 3. **Is folklore always a trivial phenomenon? (Slides 14-15)** No, folklore is not always a trivial phenomenon. While it may seem insignificant at times, folklore can carry important values, traditions, and meanings within a culture. It contributes to shaping cultural identity and offers insight into a group’s beliefs, practices, and shared experiences. 1. **William Thoms' 1846 coinage of the term "folk-lore" (Slide 2)**: William Thoms coined the term "folk-lore" in a letter to the *Athenæum* in 1846. He suggested that instead of calling it "Popular Antiquities" or "Popular Literature," it should be described as "Folk-Lore," meaning the lore of the people. This new term better captured the traditional knowledge passed down through generations, reflecting both the people's culture and their shared experiences. 2. **Dual natures in Dorothy Noyes and Henry Glassie’s definitions of folklore (Slides 5-7, 13)**: Dorothy Noyes emphasized the dual nature of folklore as a tension between **repudiation** (seen as old-fashioned) and **nostalgia** (viewed as culturally beautiful). Henry Glassie focused on the contrast between **tradition** (continuity and preservation) and **variation** (change and adaptation). The complete list of dual natures includes: - Repudiation vs. Nostalgia - Tradition vs. Variation - Trivial vs. Non-trivial. 3. **Example of a cultural phenomenon sometimes repudiated as old-fashioned and sometimes glorified via nostalgia (Slides 8-12)**: The example of **quilts** illustrates this duality. Quilts might be dismissed as cheap, old-fashioned objects, yet they are also cherished as cultural artifacts, glorified for their craftsmanship and the emotional or familial connections they evoke. A quilt made by a grandmother, for example, can represent both utilitarian tradition and nostalgic beauty. 4. **Five qualities of "true folklore" (Slide 15)**: According to JH Brunvand, the five qualities of "true folklore" are: 1. Its content is verbal, customary, or material.  2. It is traditional in form and transmission. 3. It exists in different versions. 4. Its authorship is often anonymous. 5. It tends to become formularized (established patterns or recurring forms). 5. **How does Alan Dundes define a folkloric group/Who are the folk? (Slide 18)**: Alan Dundes defined "the folk" as any group of people who share at least one common factor. This broad definition allows "the folk" to range from small groups like a family to large groups like a nation. Folkloric groups are flexible and can consist of people united by shared traditions, practices, or interests. 6. **Why do we say folklore is performed? (Slides 21-23)**: Folklore is considered a performance because it involves active participation, interaction, and expression within a group. It is not just about the material or verbal aspects, but also about how these elements are shared, communicated, and enacted among people. Each performance can vary, adding dynamic elements to tradition. 7. **Dan Ben-Amos’s famous 1967 definition of folklore (Slide 30)**: Dan Ben-Amos defined folklore as "artistic communication in small groups." This definition highlights the interactive and expressive nature of folklore, emphasizing the role of creativity and performance within a community setting. Week 2 Reading: Week 2 Reading: 1. **Models of transmission (Figures 1, 2, and 3) on pages 7-9**: - **Figure 1 (Folk Process of Transmission)**: In this model, folklore is passed from person to person, similar to the game "telephone." Each individual who hears a story or legend passes it on to others, and it changes along the way. This model highlights the variability of folklore as it moves through a population. - **Figure 2 (Mass Culture Transmission)**: This model represents pop culture, where a single source, such as television or a book, delivers the same story to a large audience. Every person receives the exact same version, with no variations. - **Figure 3 (Elite Culture Transmission)**: In this model, the transmission is more selective, with fewer people receiving the same information. Different ballet companies might perform the same ballet, but each company’s interpretation is slightly different. This lies somewhere between folk and mass culture in terms of transmission variability. 2. **Different forms of transmission (Page 12)**: Different transmission methods, like email versus word-of-mouth, result in varying levels of variability in the folklore being passed. For example, a story passed via email might undergo fewer changes than one passed through verbal retellings. The form of transmission impacts how much a story changes, with more direct, person-to-person forms like word-of-mouth often leading to more variants. 3. **McNeill’s argument that "traditional" does not necessarily mean "old" or "old-fashioned" (Pages 13-14)**: McNeill argues that in folklore studies, "traditional" simply means "passed on" rather than "old." A tradition can be brand-new but still considered traditional if it is shared and repeated by a group. Thus, something that spreads quickly, like an urban legend shared via email, is still traditional even if it is not old. 4. **McNeill’s definition of folklore (Pages 13-14)**: McNeill defines folklore as "informal, traditional culture." This means folklore is passed on informally, not through official channels like mass media or formal institutions. It includes stories, beliefs, customs, and other cultural expressions that are shared person-to-person, evolving as they are passed along. Week 2 Lecture: 1. **Why do we say that writing is a technology?** Writing is considered a technology because it is an invented tool that humans use to communicate and store information. Like other technologies, writing allows us to extend our natural abilities—specifically, our ability to communicate across time and space. Writing is not a natural human behavior like speech; it had to be developed, learned, and utilized through various mediums. 2. **How old is the technology of writing? (Slide 13)** The technology of writing is about 5,000 years old. It began with **Sumerian cuneiform** around 3,200 BCE, which is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. 3. **What are the 8 differences between orality (speaking) and literacy (writing)? (Slides 18-25)** - **Speech is situationally transparent**: Speakers share the same context, while writing often lacks the immediate contextual cues. - **Speech is full of paralinguistic cues**: Non-verbal elements like gestures and facial expressions enrich communication, while writing relies on symbols like emoticons to convey similar meanings. - **Speech contains a lower level of content per sentence**: Speech is repetitive to aid understanding, whereas writing can convey more information in fewer words. - **Speech is primarily used for interactional purposes**: It helps maintain social relationships, while writing is often used for transactional purposes. - **Speech relies on relatively simple syntax**: Spoken language consists of fragments and run-on sentences, while writing is more structured. - **Speech can be modified on the spot**: Speakers can correct themselves immediately, whereas writing, once shared, is harder to change. - **Speech is primarily disposable**: Most speech is meant for one-time use, while writing is often preserved for future reference.  - **Speech has intonation and rhythm**: Speech carries emotional tone, volume, and rhythm, while writing tries to replicate this with tools like capitalization or punctuation. Week 3 Reading: 1. **Sherzer’s definition of the term "joke" (Page F101-1)**: Sherzer defines a **joke** as a discourse unit consisting of two parts: the setup and the punchline. The humor comes from the element of surprise in the punchline, which reframes or challenges the assumptions set up by the initial part of the joke. 2. **Identify a riddle joke vis-à-vis a narrative joke (Pages F101-1 through F101-4)**: - **Riddle jokes**: These jokes are structured as a question posed to a listener, followed by an unexpected answer. They often involve puns. For example, "Why did the cookie visit the doctor? Because he felt crummy" is a riddle joke. - **Narrative jokes**: These consist of a short story with a punchline at the end. Narrative jokes often have a setup involving several actions or dialogues before delivering a surprising punchline. For example, "A priest drowned, then asked God why he wasn't saved. God replied, 'Did I not send a rowboat, a yacht, and a helicopter?'". 3. **Focus on the metajokes (Page F101-6)**: **Metajokes** are jokes that comment on other jokes or the structure of jokes. They often involve playing with expectations about how jokes are told. An example of a metajoke: "Two guys walk into a bar, and the third one ducks." This joke uses a familiar setup only to surprise the listener with a punchline that refers to the act of walking into something. 4. **Proverbs as pre-packaged expressions of communal wisdom (Pages F101-7 through F101-11)**: Proverbs are **short and concise** expressions of communal wisdom, often used to answer a question, give advice, or provide a summation. They are recognized for their binary structure, where one two-part relationship is compared or related to another. An example of a proverb is "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," which compares two states and provides a general truth about value. 5. **Key structural and thematic elements of proverbs (Page F101-7)**: Proverbs are characterized by their **binary structure**, where one two-part relationship is compared to another. This structure makes them **short and concise**, often using figurative language to express deeper meanings. 6. **Proverbs, contradictions, and contrastive pairs (Page F101-8)**: Proverbs can contain contradictory ideas. For instance, Sherzer lists two French proverbs: "In union there is strength" and "He who does it for himself does it for three," which express opposite ideas. This shows that contradictions are common in proverbs, and they reflect the complexity of communal wisdom. Week 3 lectures Here are the answers based on the slides: 1. **Facts about language (Slide 3)**: - More than 6,000 languages are spoken in the world. - 90% of the population speaks fewer than 10% of the languages. - Language is instinctual and universal to all healthy humans, allowing them to communicate an infinite number of ideas through language and dialect. - Folklorists are concerned with descriptive, not prescriptive, studies of language. - Language and folklore combine to create traditional, localized accents, lexicons, and other sociolinguistic patterns. 2. **Stages of language acquisition (Slide 5)**: - **4-6 months**: Children begin to babble. - **10-13 months**: Children start making words. - **24 months**: Children form short phrases. - **3-4 years**: Children are capable of forming full sentences. - **5-6 years**: Children acquire full grammar and linguistic capabilities. 3. **Why are folklorists interested in an ethnography of speaking? (Slides 11-15)**: Folklorists are interested in an **ethnography of speaking** because they focus not only on the structure of language but also on its social use in daily life. This involves studying how people use language in social contexts, as influenced by **Dell Hymes' sociolinguistic theories**. It explores how language is intertwined with social interactions, cultural traditions, and group identities. 4. **Is language related to people’s understanding of our identity/identities? (Slides 16-18)**: Yes, language is deeply related to people's understanding of identity. Language traditions and dialects align with cultural identities, allowing individuals to express their belonging to specific cultural or social groups. Regional accents, word choices, and linguistic behaviors all serve as markers of identity and can be selectively expressed based on the social context. 5. **Regional variations of American English (Slides 20-26)**: The slides discuss different regional dialects of American English, highlighting how linguistic features like pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar vary across the United States. For example, specific words or phrases can mark regional identities. Studies like the **Harvard Dialect Study** (2003) have mapped out these variations, showing how language can differ based on geography. 1. **What is a genre? What good are genres? (Slides 2-3)**:  - A **genre** is an orienting framework for producing and interpreting discourse, a way to categorize and understand different forms of communication. - **Genres are useful** because they help people classify and comprehend various forms of cultural expression, such as jokes, legends, or proverbs. Historically, genres were seen as stable categories, but now they are understood as more flexible, guiding the production and interpretation of discourse. 2. **The 6 Characteristics of Proverbs (Slides 6-30)**: 1. **Contrast = Applicability**: Proverbs often present contrasting ideas that can be applied to different situations, like "Look before you leap" vs. "He who hesitates is lost". 2. **Ambiguity = Applicability/Creativity**: The ambiguity in proverbs allows for creative interpretations, such as different meanings for "A friend in need is a friend indeed". 3. **Historical Change**: Proverbs evolve over time, adapting to new cultural contexts, such as "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" taking on different meanings over time. 4. **Movement across Folk and Popular Culture**: Proverbs can move between folk culture and popular culture, gaining new political or economic relevance. 5. **Rhyme and Mnemonic Device**: Proverbs often use rhyme as a tool for memorization and to pass down traditional knowledge, like "Leaves of three, let it be". 6. **Movement between Folk and Media**: Proverbs can move between traditional folk use and modern media, being adapted into advertising or popular culture. 3. **Definition of a joke (Slide 32)**: A **joke** is a unit of discourse that consists of two parts: the setup and the punchline. The punchline introduces an element of surprise that contrasts with the setup and is intended to produce humor. 4. **The 4 Characteristics of jokes (Slides 33-42)**: 1. **Acquisition of Joke Competency**: Joke-telling begins in childhood, as children learn and develop the skill of joke-telling through interactions. 2. **Incongruity**: Jokes often rely on an incongruity, where an unexpected twist or contradiction generates humor, like in the "Wide-Mouthed Frog" joke. 3. **Insider Knowledge**: Many jokes depend on insider knowledge or familiarity with specific cultural or linguistic references to be understood. 4. **Grotesque, Taboo, and Politically Incorrect**: Some jokes explore taboo or politically incorrect topics, often serving as a way to break social tensions or provide relief from anxieties. Week 4 Reading: 1. **What type of art/craft is Yeh-hsien good at making?** Yeh-hsien is skilled at making **pottery on the wheel**. 2. **What is special about Yeh-hsien’s fish?**  Yeh-hsien's fish has **red fins and golden eyes**, and it grows very large over time. It also recognizes Yeh-hsien and surfaces when she comes near the pond but does not appear for anyone else. 3. **How does the stepmother trick Yeh-hsien and kill Yeh-hsien’s fish?** The stepmother tricks Yeh-hsien by offering her a new dress and sending her far away to get water. While Yeh-hsien is gone, the stepmother disguises herself in Yeh-hsien's clothes, goes to the pond, and calls the fish. The fish, thinking it is Yeh-hsien, surfaces, and the stepmother **kills the fish with a sharp blade**. 4. **What happens when Yeh-hsien discovers that her fish is dead?** A man with loose hair and coarse clothes appears to Yeh-hsien and tells her that the fish's bones are hidden under the dung heap. He instructs her to take the bones and pray to them for anything she desires, such as **gold, pearls, or food**, which will be granted. 5. **How does Yeh-hsien get her kingfisher-feather cloak and gold shoes for the cave festival?** Yeh-hsien uses the fish bones to pray for the **cloak made from kingfisher feathers and gold shoes** in order to attend the cave festival. 6. **Who picks up the shoe that Yeh-hsien loses at the cave festival?** The shoe is picked up by **one of the people of the cave** after Yeh-hsien flees in a hurry. 7. **What happens to the stepmother and stepsisters in the end?** The stepmother and stepsisters are **struck by flying stones** and die. The people of the cave feel sorry for them and bury them in a stone pit, which is called the "Tomb of the Distressed Women". Grimms article 1. **What does Cinderella's mother say to her as she is dying?** Cinderella's mother tells her, “Dear child, I must leave you, but when I am up in heaven, I shall look after you. Plant a little tree on my grave, and whenever you wish for something, shake it, and you’ll have what you wish. And whenever you are otherwise in a predicament, then I’ll send you help. Just stay good and pure”. 2. **What does Cinderella plant on her mother’s grave?** Cinderella plants a **little tree** on her mother’s grave. 3. **What are Cinderella’s new stepsisters like?** The stepsisters are described as having beautiful features but **proud, nasty, and wicked hearts**. 4. **Why is Cinderella always "rummaged in dust"?**  Cinderella is always "rummaged in dust" because her stepsisters force her to do all the heavy housework, including sorting peas and lentils from the ashes of the hearth. 5. **Who helps Cinderella sort the good and bad lentils while the stepsisters go to the ball?** **Two white pigeons** help Cinderella sort the lentils by pecking the bad ones out and leaving the good ones. 6. **How is Cinderella able to see the ballroom, even though she cannot go to the ball?** Cinderella climbs up to the **pigeon coop** to watch her stepsisters dance with the prince from afar. 7. **From where does Cinderella get beautiful clothes to wear to the ball?** Cinderella gets her beautiful clothes from the **little tree** on her mother's grave. When she shakes it and wishes for clothes, the tree gives her a splendid dress. 8. **How does Cinderella lose one of her slippers?** Cinderella loses one of her golden slippers when she rushes down the stairs to leave before midnight. The stairs were covered with black pitch, and her slipper got stuck. 9. **What do the stepsisters do to try and make their foot fit into the slipper?** The stepsisters **cut off parts of their feet** (one cuts her heel, the other cuts her toes) to try to fit into the slipper. 10. **How does the prince see through the stepsisters' tricks of making their foot fit into the slipper?** The prince realizes the stepsisters’ deception when **pigeons call out** and point out the blood coming from their feet, showing that the slipper does not fit. 11. **How does this version of Cinderella conclude?** The prince finds Cinderella, and when she tries on the slipper, it fits perfectly. He recognizes her as the true bride. Cinderella is taken away by the prince, and they marry. The pigeons confirm that she is the rightful bride by saying there’s no blood, and the golden shoe is a perfect fit. The princess and the donkey 1. **Why does the king’s beautiful daughter not want to marry the “other king in Faraway Land” that her father wants her to marry?** The king’s daughter does not want to marry the other king in Faraway Land because **he was so ugly**. 2. **How does the king’s daughter come to live in a donkey skin?**  The king's daughter, refusing to marry the ugly king, says she would rather live in a donkey’s skin. The people took her words literally, killed an old donkey, and placed her inside the skin, forcing her to leave the palace. 3. **Why does the old woman let the king’s daughter (the princess in a donkey skin) stay at her hut?** The old woman lets the princess stay at her hut on the condition that she will feed the chickens, take care of the garden, clean the house, and do the washing, ironing, and cooking. 4. **Why are the king of Faraway Land and the prince at the old woman’s hut?** The king and his son, the prince, are at the old woman’s hut because they were out hunting. 5. **What goes wrong at dinner?** During dinner, the princess accidentally loses a **diamond ring into the soup** she prepares, which the prince later finds. 6. **How does the fairy godmother help the princess in the donkey skin reveal herself to the prince?** The fairy godmother allows the princess to **transform into a beautiful girl for thirty minutes**, during which time she stands on a balcony where the prince sees her and falls in love with her. 7. **How many times does the princess in the donkey skin reveal herself to the prince?** The princess reveals herself to the prince **twice**, each time for thirty minutes, with the help of the fairy godmother. 8. **How does the prince reveal (completely and for the last time) that the princess in the donkey skin is the beautiful woman he is looking for?** The prince searches for the woman whose finger fits the diamond ring he found in the soup. After much searching, he finally slips the ring onto the princess's finger, and she transforms back into the beautiful girl he had fallen in love with. Week 4 lecture 1. **What makes a story a story? (What makes a narrative?) (Slides 2-5)**: A narrative is made up of several key elements: - **Character development**: Characters are fleshed out, as in the case of a "persistent poisoner." - **Rich description of actions**: Actions are described in detail, such as "draining the glass." - **Temporal dimensionality**: The story provides a sense of time, for example, "suddenly." - **Revelation of inner-thought processes**: The characters' thoughts are revealed, such as "he knew he had been poisoned." - **Ambiguity and cliffhangers**: Suspense is created, leaving unanswered questions about what happens next. 2. **How have folklorists categorized traditional narratives? (Slides 6-7)**: Folklorists categorize traditional narratives into three main types: - **Myths**: Stories dealing with religious or sacred narratives that explain the meaning and nature of existence. Often believed to be true in their sacred contexts. - **Legends**: Stories of the folk’s history that are sometimes fantastic but held as possibly true. - **Folktales**: Fictional stories told for entertainment. 3. **Definition of myth, legend, and folktale (Slides 6-7)**: - **Myth**: Sacred narratives explaining the nature of existence. - **Legend**: Stories of the folk's history that may be believed to be true or false. - **Folktale**: Fictional stories told for entertainment. 4. **Difference between motifs and tale types (Slide 9)**: - **Motifs**: Recurring thematic elements or units within a story (e.g., R221: flight from the ball in "Cinderella"). - **Tale types**: Categories of stories that are identified by their overall plot or structure (e.g., "Cinderella" type stories). 5. **Difference between a complex and simple folktale (Slides 10-11)**: - **Simple folktale**: A story consisting of a single episode (e.g., jokes, fables). - **Complex folktale**: A story that consists of multiple episodes, often forming a longer narrative (e.g., fairytales, romantic tales). 6. **Why has Disney been so successful in its representation of traditional narratives? (Slides 21-29)**: Disney has been successful because they stick to traditional story scripts that have been proven to resonate with audiences. They adapt and modernize these traditional narratives, maintaining their universal appeal while also keeping up with cultural changes. 7. **What is ATU 985? (Slide 22)**: ATU 985 refers to the **tale type "Brother Chosen Rather than Husband or Son"**, where a character chooses their brother over other family members. This tale type can be found in various traditions, including stories like the *Ramayana*. 1. **What is a fable? (Slide 3)**: A **fable** is a brief, single episode (oral or written) that uses speaking animals, plants, inanimate objects, or human characters to metaphorically illustrate and satirize human behavior. 2. **What is the Panchatantra? (Slides 5-7)**:  The **Panchatantra** is a collection of ancient Indian fables written in Sanskrit around 200 B.C.E. It features stories often involving animals, designed to teach moral lessons and principles of leadership and statecraft. 3. **Were Aesop and Vishnu Sharma real historical people? (Slide 7)**: Both **Aesop** and **Vishnu Sharma** are largely considered to be **invented narrators** who represent the anonymous oral creation and transmission of fable-like tales. Their historical existence is uncertain. 4. **What is an epimythium? (Slides 8-9)**: An **epimythium** is the proverbial moral of a fable, typically placed at the end. For example, "Slow and steady wins the race" is an epimythium from the fable of the tortoise and the hare. 5. **What is an anti-fable? (Slides 14-16)**: An **anti-fable** is a narrative that deliberately subverts or reverses the traditional structure and moral lessons of a classic fable, often used to criticize or mock the conventional wisdom presented by fables. 6. **What is anthropomorphism? (Slide 19)**: **Anthropomorphism** is the attribution of human characteristics, thought patterns, emotional states, and behaviors to non-human objects, such as animals, plants, or inanimate objects. 7. **How is the fable of the Fox & the Crow anthropomorphic of humans’ understanding of “weight”? (Slides 29-35)**: In the fable of the **Fox & the Crow**, the crow is depicted with human-like reasoning and emotions, which can be seen in how it reacts to the fox’s flattery. The fox manipulates the crow’s vanity to make it drop the cheese, symbolizing a folk theory of weight—where physical objects, like cheese, respond to gravity in ways understood by both humans and animals. This anthropomorphism connects human understanding of weight and manipulation with the actions of the crow. Week 5 lecture Here are the answers based on the slides: 1. **Folkloristic and scientific definition of superstition (Slide 3)**: - **Folkloristic definition**: Superstitions are popular beliefs, usually concerning chance, magic, or the supernatural, based on conscious or unconscious assumptions about cause and effect. - **Psychologist's definition**: Superstition refers to any unscientific belief accepted without question, often viewed as groundless or unfounded. 2. **Superstitious sign, magical action, and conversion (Slides 4-8)**: - **Sign**: A portent or omen that someone can read, such as "Are your ears burning? Someone must be talking about you". - **Magical action**: An action based on multiple conditions to produce a specific outcome, like carrying an umbrella to ensure it won’t rain. - **Conversion**: A hybrid superstition where a sign is converted into a magical action, such as making a wish upon seeing a shooting star. 3. **Superstitions often involve complex situations (Slides 9-19)**: Superstitions arise from complex human situations where outcomes are difficult to predict, such as how to find love, be lucky, or achieve happiness. They provide a way to handle uncertainty and unpredictable situations. 4. **Traditionalization of superstition validates the tradition (Slides 19-30)**: The continuation of superstitions is validated by their traditionalization within a folk group. For example, the belief in the luck of a four-leaf clover or the healing power of cranberry juice in treating urinary tract infections is passed down and reinforced by tradition. 5. **Rationalism and superstitious thinking performed in complementary ways (Slides 31-43)**: Rationalism and superstitious thinking can coexist and complement each other. For example, **dowsing**—the practice of finding underground water—has been used both as a folkloric tradition and a rational tool, demonstrating how these two modes of thinking are often intertwined. 1. **Findings of the 2005 Gallup poll on supernatural beliefs (Slides 4-6)**: The 2005 Gallup poll found that: - 73% of Americans believe in some form of the supernatural. - The most commonly believed supernatural phenomena were **Extrasensory Perception (ESP)** (41%), **haunted houses** (37%), and **ghosts** (32%). - Less commonly believed were **witches** (21%), **reincarnation** (20%), and **spirit possession** (9%). 2. **Three extraordinary spiritual experiences (ESEs) (Slide 9)**: The three extraordinary spiritual experiences discussed in the lecture are: - **Near Death Experiences (NDEs)**. - **Supernatural Visits (SVs)**, which include Supernatural Companions in Light and Bereavement Visits. - **Sleep Paralysis (SP) with visions of evil spirits**. 3. **Near Death Experiences (NDEs) (Slides 10-13)**: These are experiences people report when they come close to death or are in life-threatening situations. An example discussed in the slides is Toni Cicoria, who had an NDE after being struck by lightning and developed a deep passion for playing the piano afterward. 4. **Supernatural Visits (SVs) (Slides 14-18)**: - **Supernatural Companion in Light**: These experiences involve seeing or sensing a companion of light during a spiritual or life-altering event. - **Bereavement Visits**: Many people, particularly the elderly, report "visits" from deceased loved ones, especially within the first month of their partner's death. Approximately 80% of elderly individuals report these visits. 5. **Sleep Paralysis (SP) with Visions of Evil Spirits (Slides 19-21)**: During sleep paralysis, people experience an inability to move while being fully conscious, often accompanied by terrifying visions of evil spirits or malevolent presences. 6. **Cultural Source Hypothesis (Slide 22)**: The **Cultural Source Hypothesis** suggests that cultural traditions shape the content of supernatural beliefs, experiences, and folklore. These cultural narratives provide a framework for understanding supernatural events. 7. **Experiential Source Hypothesis (Slide 23)**: The **Experiential Source Hypothesis** posits that certain common, cross-cultural experiences (like NDEs or sleep paralysis) are interpreted as supernatural, regardless of an individual’s cultural background.