UGC-NET – Paper II: FOLK LITERATURE (Code: 71)
Exam Cycle: June 2026
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COURSE OVERVIEW
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Subject Name: FOLK LITERATURE
Subject Code: 71
Conducting Body: National Testing Agency (NTA)
Paper Type: Paper-II – FOLK LITERATURE
Total Marks: 200
Total Questions: 100 MCQs
Mode: Computer Based Test (CBT)
Duration: 3 Hours (Paper I + II combined)
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COMPLETE LIST OF UNITS
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Unit I: Folklore: Definition, Concept and Classification:
Unit II: Historiography of Folkloristics.
Unit III: Folk Literature:
Unit IV: Theories of Folklore – I : Diachronic Approaches.
Unit V: Theories of Folklore – II : Synchronic Approaches.
Unit VI: Folklife and Cultural Performances:
Unit VII: Public Folklore and Mass Media:
Unit VIII: Folklore and Globalisation:
Unit IX: Indian Folk Cultural Practices:
Unit X: Fieldwork, Documentation and Archival Practices:
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UNIT-WISE DETAILED SYLLABUS
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Unit I: Folklore: Definition, Concept and Classification:
Topic 1: Who are the Folk? – Concepts of Folklife and Folkloristics – Ethnicity – Family types:
• Natal, Conjugal, Nuclear, Extended (Generational and Polyandrous)
• Types of relationships in Family – direct, shared, sexual and descent
• Functions of Family Kinship Terminology: Types of Kinship, Role of Kinship
• Social Categories and Social Organization in the creation, transmission and sustenance of Folklore / Folklife.
Topic 2: Conceptual shift from ‘Popular Antiquities’ to ‘Folklore’ – Genres and Functions of Folklore: Ethnic Genres and Analytical Categories – Classification of Folklore: Verbal, Nonverbal and Intermediary Genres – Genre Theory:
• Alan Dundes
• Richard Dorson
• Ben Amos
• Richard Bauman
• Roger Abrahams
• Functions of Folklore: William Bascom, Louri Honko
• Characteristics of Folklore.
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Unit II: Historiography of Folkloristics.
Topic 1: Folk, from ‘Savage’ to ‘Imagined Group’ – Folklore as Data and Folklore as Study – Oracy Vs. Literacy – Classical Vs. Folk – Emergence of Folklore as an Academic Discipline:
• Folklore Studies in Abroad
• Folklore Studies in India
• Subaltern Studies
• Tribal Studies
• Diaspora Studies
• Green Studies.
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Unit III: Folk Literature:
Topic 1: Definition and Epistemology of Folk Literature – Fields of Folk Literature:
• Myths
• Epics
• Legends
• Folk Tales
• Folk Songs
• Proverbs
• Riddles
• Tongue Twisters
• Speech Acts
• Verbal Art in Performances (Theatre, Dance Drama, Medicinal Chants, Verbose in Play Genres, etc.)
• Literary Devices
• Ethnic Slurs, Rumor, Personal Narratives
• Oral History.
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Unit IV: Theories of Folklore – I : Diachronic Approaches.
Topic 1: Evolutionary Theories – Concept of Evolution – Unilinear and Multilinear Approaches:
• E.B. Tylor
• George Mudrock
• Lewis Morgan
• James Frazer
• Myth-Ritual Theory
• Solar Mythology or Comparative Philology.
Topic 2: Devolutionary Theories – Concept of Devolution – Types of Devolutionary Theories:
• Marxists and Elitists.
Topic 3: Diffusion Theories (Monogenesis) – Concept of Diffusion:
• Indianist Theory or Benfy’s Migration Theory
• Egyptians School and Finnish School or Historical-Geographic Method.
Topic 4: Diffusion Theories (Polygenesis) – Psychic Unity – Convergence Vs. Parallelism Theories:
• Romantic Nationalism and its Manifestations.
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Unit V: Theories of Folklore – II : Synchronic Approaches.
Topic 1: Structural Approaches – Basic concepts:
• Syntagmatic Structuralism – Concepts of Ferdinand de Saussure and Theory of Vladimir Propp — Application of Proppian Model to Folklore
• Paradigmatic Structuralism – Concepts of Roman Jacobson and Theory of Claude Levi-Strauss – Application of Straussian Model to Folklore.
Topic 2: Functional Approaches – Basic Concepts:
• Social Functionalists: Bronislaw Malinowski, Radcliffe-Brown, Emile Durkheim
• Symbolic Functionalists: Clifford Geertz, Victor Turner.
Topic 3: Psychological Approaches – Psychoanalysis – Basic Concepts:
• Sigmund Freud – Freud’s Theoretical applications to Folklore
• Analytical Psychology – Basic Concepts – Carl J. Jung – Jung’s Theoretical Applications to Folklore
• Jacques Lacan’s Theory.
Topic 4: Contextual Approaches – Basic Concepts:
• Verbal Art as Performance
• Linguistic and Communicative Models of Roman Jacobson
• Oral Formulaic Theory or Parry-Lord Theory
• Lauri Honko’s concept of ‘Multiforms’.
Topic 5: Poststructural and Postmodern Approaches – Meaning and Tenets of Post-structuralism, New Hermeneutics, Text, Textuality, Textual Analysis:
• Paul Ricoeur and Theories of Interpretation
• Historical Milieu of the Theories
• Concept and Theory of Deconstruction – Derrida, Lacan, Foucault
• Gender Theories and Approaches – Gender and Genre – Feminism and Gender Perspectives – Queer Theory.
Topic 6: Semiotic Approaches:
• Semiotic Approach to Folk Culture Studies
• Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles S. Pierce on Sign System and Culture
• Perspectives on Discourse Analysis.
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Unit VI: Folklife and Cultural Performances:
Topic 1: Culture as Performance:
• Erving Goffman
• Clifford Geertz
• Milton Singer
• Rites of Passage and Territorial Rites – Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner
• Performance Centered Approach – Roger D. Abrahams, Richard Bauman, Richard Schechner
• Dell Hymes’s Ethnography of Speaking Approach
• Analysis of Folk Narratives.
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Unit VII: Public Folklore and Mass Media:
Topic 1: Basic Concepts:
• Folklore, Folklorism, Folklorismus, Folklorization, Applied Folklore, Public Folklore and Second Life of Folklore
• Folklore in Public Sphere
• Folklore and Communication
• Folklore and New Media.
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Unit VIII: Folklore and Globalisation:
Topic 1: Theories of Global Culture – Discourse on Modernity, Post-Modernity and Globalisation:
• Ideologues of Globalisation
• Emergence of Populism.
Topic 2: Influence of Globalisation in Socio-cultural Life – Issues and Concepts of Identity:
• Global vs. Global, Homogeneity Vs. Heterogeneity and Hybridization
• Changing Dimensions and domains of Folklore Genres and Folk Performances
• Cultural Tourism
• Neo-Folk Formations and Protest Movements
• Challenges to Native Cultures
• Bio-politics.
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Unit IX: Indian Folk Cultural Practices:
Topic 1: Genres of Folk Theatre – Narrative Enactments – Puppet Theatre – Dance Dramas – Musical Traditions and Life Style Patterns – Naming System and Onomastics – Occupational Folklore – Family Folklore – Folk Religious Practices – Pilgrimage and Ritual Practices – Fairs and Festivals – Folk Medicinal Practices – Folk Art and Craft – Folk Architecture – Folk Foodways and Culinary Practices – Folk Games – Dress and Clothing – Manners and Customs – Customary Law and Jurisprudence – Worldview – Regional Variations and Versions.
• [All concepts listed are part of the single topic description.]
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Unit X: Fieldwork, Documentation and Archival Practices:
Topic 1: Categorization of Fieldwork Operations: Pre-fieldwork, Fieldwork and Post-fieldwork – Notions of ‘field’ and ‘data’- Thick and Thin Data – Methods and Techniques:
• Survey Method
• Observation Method
• Ethnographic Method
• Postmodern Ethnographic Method
• Dialogical and Discourse Methods
• Focus Group Method
• Documentation and Archival Practices
• Preservation and Conservation of Tangible and Intangible Cultures
• Fieldwork Ethics and Copyright Issues
• Patent Rights.
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EXAMINATION STRUCTURE
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Paper-II: Subject Specific Examination
- Total Questions: 100
- Total Marks: 200
- Question Type: Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
- Negative Marking: No
- Duration: 3 Hours (Combined with Paper I)
- Mode: Computer Based Test (CBT)
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SYLLABUS SUMMARY
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Total Units: 10
Total Topics: 19
Subject: FOLK LITERATURE
Subject Code: 71
Exam Category: UGC-NET Paper-II
Source: Official NTA/UGC Syllabus
Status: “As per latest official syllabus”
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