English -- Literature

Search Strategies:

Many journal articles about folklore are about Western lore (American and European) and many critical articles are about how folklore works in literary works (such as Jewish folktales in Kafka's Metamorphosis).

You will need to use a range of search terms and refine your search to find articles about specific folklore motifs.

1. Be careful about spelling. If your search yields nothing, doublecheck your spelling. Use variants and check for related tales, such as Sundiata, Sundjata, and Sunjata.

2. Work both toward specifics and out toward general terms. Do multiple searches with folklore and folktales as search terms.  For instance, you might start looking for Mali tales, but then look more generally for African trickster tales, and then narrow your terms to Beninese tales. Use different terms for ethnic groups, countries, continents, and characters.

3. Use more than one database. After using Artemis, try Academic Search Premier or other databases listed on the HOME page.

Sample articles (you'll have to log in after clicking):

Uther, H. "The Fox in World Literature: Reflections on a 'Fictional' Animal"

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA157587664&v=2.1&u=klnb_kwesluniv&it=r&p=GLS&sw=w&asid=5e727e5a657100b839053c892697aa40

Guenther, M. "The Bushman Trickster: Protagonist, Divinity, and Agent of Creativity"

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA91562708&v=2.1&u=klnb_kwesluniv&it=r&p=GLS&sw=w&asid=d728d3fb53f25b7b8baae49c3bbb2f27

Parsons, L. "Ella Evolving: Cinderella Stories and the Construction of Gender-Appropriate Behavior"

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=13347364&site=ehost-live

Open Folklore

SurLaLune Fairy Tales

D. L. Ashliman's Folklore and Mythology collection