Graduate students pursuing the Master of Arts in English in the Department of Language and Communication may concentrate their studies in the areas of Folklife and Southern Culture. This unique program, which is only available at Northwestern State University, allows students a wide variety of professional options upon graduation.

In addition to the core requirements, students in the Folklife/Southern Culture concentration complete two required courses:

• English 4670:  Folklore or English 5580: Folklore of the Southern United States
• English 4650:  The Southern Renascence or English 5590:  Contemporary Southern Literature

In addition to these required courses, students in this concentration complete at least nine additional hours in the area of Folklife/Southern Culture and may choose from courses such as Southern Women Writers, Southern Literature Before 1920, Use of Folk Materials in Teaching, Folklore of the Southern United States, Louisiana Fiction, or History, Theory, and Practice of Public Folklore.  Students may choose to take their remaining courses in the areas of literature (especially American literature), folklore, linguistics, or rhetoric and composition.

Though not expressly required by the degree program, students strongly are encouraged to take part in internships in the Louisiana Folklife Center (LFC) in order to gain invaluable experience, which prepares them for future employment. The Louisiana Folklife Center is a research facility within the College of Liberal Arts that houses an extensive collection of audio, video, and written data.  The LFC provides students in the Folklife/Southern Culture concentration with an invaluable pool of resources which facilitate a wide range of research projects in folklife, including but not limited to material culture, oral narrative, and foodways.  The Center maintains portable tape recorders and transcription machines specifically for student use; high-speed tape duplicating machines and other audio equipment crucial to conducting fieldwork projects are also available for student use.

The Director of the LFC, Dr. Shane Rasmussen, serves as coordinator of the Folklife/Southern Culture concentration. Under his direction, the LFC staff members plan and oversee the nationally-acclaimed Natchitoches/NSU Folk Festival, which is held annually during the third weekend July.  The Folk Festival provides a wonderful opportunity for tourists, local residents, and students to interact with traditional craftspeople, enjoy great music, and view the many educational exhibits on display at the Festival each year. 

Many of the courses offered in this concentration emphasize public folklore, preparing students for positions both in and out of academia.  Many public folklorists become the directors of major festivals such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, or the American Folklife Festival. Public folklorists may also work for both private and public entities such as the Gerry Research Institute, The Harrison Museum of Art at Utah State University, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.