Index to Genre Collections

The USU Student Folklore Genre Collection consists of folklore items collected by undergraduate students in Utah State University folklore courses from the early 1960s to the present and by undergraduate students in Brigham Young University folklore and anthropology courses during 1960-1978 as part of course requirements and deposited in the Fife Folklore Archives by the instructors. Duplicates of BYU student items are housed at BYU's William A. Wilson Folklore Archives. Most items include informant data, context, text (the folklore item), texture (stylistic notation),and collector data. The items of folklore are in text form in 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of line-free paper. Since 1999, genre items also include release forms. The materials reflect both insider (esoteric) and outsider (exoteric) views of a folk group and may be prejudiced or stereotyped. Click here for content disclaimer. The collection is separated into ten distinctive categories (see below). The materials do not circulate.

• Group 1: Customs (including foodways)
• Group 2: Belief
• Group 3: Speech
• Group 4: Tales and Jokes
• Group 5: Songs
• Group 6: Games and Pranks
• Group 7: Legends (including character, contemporary, etiological, human condition, supernatural non-religious, and supernatural religious legends)
• Group 8: Material Culture
• Group 9: E-lore (electronically transmitted folklore, including folklore items transmitted by Xerox, facsimile, and e-mail)
• Group 10: Riddles (under construction)

For reference questions: randy.williams@usu.edu or phone (435) 797-2869. Fife Folklore Archives, Merrill Library, Utah State University Libraries, Logan Utah 84322-3032