John Fenn is the Head of Research and Programs at the American Folklife Center, a position that entails leading a team of staff involved in public programming, publications, research, and training in the field of folklife. His academic background is in folklore and ethnomusicology, and he holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University (2004). Prior to taking his position at the Library of Congress, John was an Associate Professor in the Arts and Administration Program at the University of Oregon. He was also a core faculty member in the Folklore Program, and served on the Executive Advisory Committee for the Oregon Folklife Network, which has its administrative offices at the University of Oregon. While a graduate student, John worked for the Lotus World Music and Arts Festival as Assistant Festival Producer and was heavily involved in programming at WFHB, Bloomington's community radio station. He has conducted fieldwork on expressive culture in Malawi (Southeast Africa), China, Indiana, and Oregon—exploring a wide range of practices, traditions, and communities. Throughout his career he has merged training in folklore and ethnomusicology with a commitment to documentation, public presentation, stewardship, and interpretation of cultural forms and expressions.
Most Recent Posts
- NAMES project special display on view until Dec. 2 November 21st, 2019
- Summer 2019 Intern Reflection: Edward Wang October 7th, 2019
- Remembering John Cohen (1932-2019) September 17th, 2019
- Homegrown Plus: Contemporary traditional music from Zimbabwe with Mokoomba July 8th, 2019
- 2019 Summer interns are here! June 22nd, 2019
- New online collection: Lowell Folklife Project May 8th, 2019
- Intern reflection: Brittney Meadors April 24th, 2019
- Recent updates to the Ethnographic Thesaurus reflect needs of power users April 13th, 2019
- In Their Own Words: Mapping the Contours of Muslim Journeys, Identities, and Triumphs in the United States January 28th, 2019
- Singing the Archive in the Schoolroom: A Collaboration between the Library of Congress and the Global Scholars Academy September 7th, 2018