Problems Related to the Folklore Accumulation and Research Directions in Klaipėda University.
Folkloro kaupimo problemos ir tyrinėjimų kryptys Klaipėdos universitete

Summary/Abstract: In Klaipėda University, folklore and ethnology are integrated into certain programs for studying Lithuanian philology, history, music, choreography, and pedagogics. There are no programs for studying ethnology or folklore alone. This situation causes some problems related to collection and management of folklore data and determines research directions for ethnologists and folklorists working here. Folklore, ethnographical and dialectological data, accumulated in Klaipėda University, are archived and stored at the folklore laboratory and the folk art office of the Baltic Linguistics and Ethnology Department of the Faculty of Humanities, at the folklore office of the Folk Music Department of the Faculty of Arts, and at the folklore archives of the Choreography Department. Ethnological research 73 is performed and advised by teachers of the above-mentioned departments, of the Music History and Theory Department, and by some fellows of the Baltic Studies Center, the Institute of Musicology, and the Institute of the Baltic Regional History and Archeology. Folklore offices are considered to constitute the material basis for the departments; the character of their work is closely related to the study programs implemented by the departments, i.e. these subdivisions perform several quite different functions, e.g. they serve the academic process, the research and creative needs of students and teachers, consult people interested in folk culture, and archive materials collected during fieldwork sessions. There are one or two laboratory assistants working in these offices; no fellows are employed here. Quite a big amount of work, scarce working forces and technical means considerably slow down the speed of their work; however, the archives are managed according to the standards of institutions that have significant experience, e.g. Institute of Lithuanian Language, Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, the Lithuanian History Institute, and the Department of Ethnomusicology at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater. Students who perform dialectological and folklore practice are encouraged to record the unique ethnic cultural heritage of the ancient inhabitants of this region, i.e. Lithuanians and Curonians. The quantitatively predominant direction of folklore research comprises studies of musical folklore (vocal, instrumental, and choreographic); studies of oral folklore, mythology and folk art are being developed. There are almost no works analyzing material culture (except for those dealing with musical instruments and folk costumes). Quite frequently the investigations tend to cross borders of single subject, covering broader range of phenomena and becoming interdisciplinary.

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