China Social Science Review

No.4, 2024

 

 

Xu Ganli

 

Traditional folklore studies have focused on “folklore” as the object of study, positioning the discipline accordingly. However, they have taken a passive stance toward sharing concepts and methods with other disciplines, which has limited their capacity for innovation and academic contribution. The rise of the new liberal arts has opened up new possibilities for folklore studies, offering a chance to liberate its thinking, redefine the scope of the discipline, and broaden its research directions. Against this backdrop, folklore should seize the momentum of interdisciplinary research, leverage the ubiquitous presence of folklore in social and cultural phenomena, and, in dialogue with related fields, explore issues that have been neglected or that lack expertise in other disciplines. By bringing a folkloric perspective to these issues, new research possibilities can be unlocked through cross-disciplinary dialogues, driving the forward development of modern folklore studies.