Sigalit: You are asking key questions I think about what the term "folklore" covers--and that can be a thorny issue. For an easy but well documented intro. to many of the issues in the field, I recommend: Georges, Robert A. and Michael Owen Jones. Folkloristics: An Introduction. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1995. I teach that text in my mixed undergrad/grad "Folklore in a Digital Age Course" at UW Madison. Actually, the web site for that is: http://endnear.com/FLR560/FLR560sch.html There might be other useful stuff on that syllabus, but its old. I am teaching it again next semester--so I am (with you) searching for articles on the topic! Rob -- Robert Glenn Howard Assistant Professor Department of Communication Arts University of Wisconsin - Madison rgh@rghoward.com http://rghoward.com