Alan Dundes:A " Couvader" In Folkloristic World

Alan Dundes,being a giant of folkloristics,was a representative character of American folklore in the late twenties.He was elected president of the American Folklore Society,and was awarded the Pitre Prize for lifelong achievement in folklore in 1993.Having explored a wide range of subject matters,employed various approaches,and put forward novel ideas,he made a great contribution to folkloristics in many aspects such as theory,methodology and practice.His works were introduced and translated into China since 1980s and had impact on Chinese folklore study,but comprehensive introduction and systematic analysis,which are especially indispensable in the theory integrating period of Chinese folkloristics,are still in lack.As one of the motivators of folkloristic context investigation in America in 1960s,Dundes argued that "text in its context" should be collected in fieldwork.As a way to get folklore materials,the collection of folklore is a premise of the study of folklore.Dundes believed that the three levels of folklore,i.e.,texture,text and context,should be recorded exactly as they are in the field.To such fixed-phrased genres as riddle and tongue twister,the texture is especially important and should be recorded in their original language.In addition to text,folklorists are obliged to collect the rules with which items of folklore are used,i.e.,the ethnography of speaking folklore,and collect,even elicit,the meanings of folklore from natives,i.e.,metafolklore and oral literature criticism.Dundes took the identification of folklore,i.e.,the recognition of the identity of folklore,as the basis of folklore study.He consulted the results of historic-geographic research to identify folklore,to recognize the identity of specific item of folklore.By means of structural analysis,he concluded that the smallest unit of narrative was motifeme,and that of proverb and riddle was descriptive element.While making comparison between different genres of folklore,he gave tentative definitions for several genres by internal structure,aiming to define all folklore genres one by one and then define folklore as a whole.Meanwhile,he made theoretical investigation into the concept of folklore,expanded the range of folk and offered an illustrative definition of folklore for temporary use,which have been accepted by most contempary folklorists.In the theoritical system of Dundes,the interpretation of folklore is the highest stage in folklore study,the goal of which is to interpret the meaning of folklore and thus to understand the possessors of folklore,i.e.,the folk,as well as ourselves.He valued highly the modificationa of Freudian psychoanalysis by Kardiner,naming it "comparative phychoanlytic reasoning",and using it skillfully in his interpreting of folklore.In the 1970s and 1980s,Dundesian methodology became fully-developed in that it was a synthetic use of various methods in folkloristic investigation.Dundes combined comparative,structural and psychoanalytical approaches for the interpretation of specific folklore items,drawing so provoking conclusions that he even was threatened by death letter for his analysis of American football.The three steps,i.e.,collection,identification and interpretation of folklore proceed one after another and emerge as a whole.Based on the creative work which Dundes has done on the theory,methodology and practices of folklore research,an external frame of the system of Dundes’ study of folklore can be generalized,whose goal is to interpret folklore;whose steps consist of collecting,identifying and interpreting;whose method is a synthesis of comparative,structural analytical,psychoanalytical and other approaches.In addition to the external frame,an internal logic can be generalized about Dundes’ study of folklore,whose essence is to interpret folklore and to understand human nature;whose clue is the combinations of text and context,identification and interpretation,universality and cultural relativity.Dundes’folklore study shows multi values,among which some points may be listed as following:for the general folkloristic theory,he established interpretation of folklore as an ultimate goal of folklore study,actively promoted the folkloristic context research,and expanded the range of folklore;for folklore methodology,he combined several approaches such as structuralism and psychoanalysis on the base of traditional historic-geographical method,which can be taken as Dundesian synthetic approach;for specific practices,he offered unique interpretations which differ from those of his predecessors and amaze the world.Some regrets,however,exist in Dundes’ study of folklore:He did his utmost to advocate folkloristic psychoanalysis with few responders,which is a so dismaying situation lies in the conformism current in American folklore scholars,the talent limits of other students,and the personality of Dundes as a straight-forward truth speaker.His plan to define folklore was given up halfway,far from providing a general definition of folklore on the basis of definitions of specific genres,which can be seen as a result of the fact that,on the one hand,he had many oral encomiasts who only praised his structural analysis rather than follow him to give structural definitions to folklore,and on the other hand,a paradox,logically and practically,exists in his method to define folklore.He had a contradictory attitude toward folk because he overvalues the folk behind folklore theoretically but undervalues their feelings practically,which is a contradiction between his theory and practice.Dundes’folklore study provides us with a lot of inspirations.He is worthy of being respected as a worldwide known folklorist for his open academic vision,rigorous academic manner and valuable critic spirit.