Abstract:
There are alarming signs that the discipline of folkloristics is in academic decline. Among the factors contributing to this sad situation is intimidation by informants. This seems to be just one more reason why folklorists seem to be afraid of taking intellectual risks, without which any academic discipline is necessarily doomed to be banned to the proverbial dustbin. Folklorists need to take stock of what little grand theory we have (and which fortunately continues to yield illumination) and in addition propose new grand theory in order to show the continued relevance of our subject matter for both the humanities and the social sciences.
