diff --git a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
index 06b9c767..0bb52096 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/configuration.rb
@@ -145,6 +145,15 @@ module Jekyll
       configuration.backwards_compatibilize
     end
 
+    # Public: Split a CSV string into an array containing its values
+    #
+    # csv - the string of comma-separated values
+    #
+    # Returns an array of the values contained in the CSV
+    def csv_to_array(csv)
+      csv.split(",").map(&:strip)
+    end
+
     # Public: Ensure the proper options are set in the configuration to allow for
     # backwards-compatibility with Jekyll pre-1.0
     #
@@ -176,6 +185,22 @@ module Jekyll
         config.delete('server_port')
       end
 
+      if config.has_key?('exclude') && config['exclude'].is_a?(String)
+        Jekyll::Stevenson.warn "Deprecation:", "The 'exclude' configuration option" +
+                               " must now be specified as an array, but you specified" +
+                               " a string. For now, we've treated the string you provided" +
+                               " as a list of comma-separated values."
+        config['exclude'] = csv_to_array(config['exclude'])
+      end
+
+      if config.has_key?('include') && config['include'].is_a?(String)
+        Jekyll::Stevenson.warn "Deprecation:", "The 'include' configuration option" +
+                               " must now be specified as an array, but you specified" +
+                               " a string. For now, we've treated the string you provided" +
+                               " as a list of comma-separated values."
+        config['include'] = csv_to_array(config['include'])
+      end
+
       config
     end
 
diff --git a/test/test_configuration.rb b/test/test_configuration.rb
index f94b159a..0f197643 100644
--- a/test/test_configuration.rb
+++ b/test/test_configuration.rb
@@ -51,9 +51,11 @@ class TestConfiguration < Test::Unit::TestCase
   context "#backwards_compatibilize" do
     setup do
       @config = Configuration[{
-        "auto" => true,
-        "watch" => true,
-        "server" => true
+        "auto"    => true,
+        "watch"   => true,
+        "server"  => true,
+        "exclude" => "READ-ME.md, Gemfile,CONTRIBUTING.hello.markdown",
+        "include" => "STOP_THE_PRESSES.txt,.heloses, .git"
       }]
     end
     should "unset 'auto' and 'watch'" do
@@ -66,6 +68,16 @@ class TestConfiguration < Test::Unit::TestCase
       assert @config.has_key?("server")
       assert !@config.backwards_compatibilize.has_key?("server")
     end
+    should "transform string exclude into an array" do
+      assert @config.has_key?("exclude")
+      assert @config.backwards_compatibilize.has_key?("exclude")
+      assert_equal @config.backwards_compatibilize["exclude"], %w[READ-ME.md Gemfile CONTRIBUTING.hello.markdown]
+    end
+    should "transform string include into an array" do
+      assert @config.has_key?("include")
+      assert @config.backwards_compatibilize.has_key?("include")
+      assert_equal @config.backwards_compatibilize["include"], %w[STOP_THE_PRESSES.txt .heloses .git]
+    end
   end
   context "loading configuration" do
     setup do