WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:00 — 33.2MB)
Host Dave Stewart interviews Indiana University Professor of Folklore Hasan El-Shamy. Dr. El-Shamy discusses how the Narrative is composed of motifs, and can be classified into Tale Types. Some tale types are long-lasting and universal. These tale types are indicative of a common thread of humanity, and are useful reminders to all that we share a common existence. We discuss Professor El-Shamy’s work on the Arabian Nights, and Professor El-Shamy tells listeners how the Arabian Nights, initially a sort of search for an exotic story-type became immensely popular and caused other peoples to search back in their history for folk tales. Folklorists study and classify these folk tales into common motifs and tale types, and this research has lead to some surprising conclusions. If you enjoy stories, and enjoy thinking about the universality of stories, please listen to this intriguing interview.
