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Posted by: Michelle Stefano
The American Folklife Center announces the launch of the Chicago 1977: People, Places, and Cultures transcription campaign, as part of the Library of Congress By the People volunteer transcription initiative, and based on the Center's Chicago Ethnic Arts Project Collection from 1977.
Posted in: AFC History, Fieldwork, Folklorists, Volunteer
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
The first interviews documented for the COVID-19 American History Project--an initiative of the American Folklife Center to create an archival collection of Americans' experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic--are now available in the online collections of the Library of Congress. In this post, learn more about the workers featured in the interviews, find out how to access their stories, and explore how you can have your pandemic story preserved as part of the COVID-19 American History Project.
Posted in: Acquisitions, African Americans, COVID-19 American History Project, COVID-19 pandemic, Fieldwork, Oral History, Tourism
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
During the COVID-19 pandemic, dining sheds--outdoor seating areas at dining establishments, theorized as “pandemic folk architecture”--were a mainstay of New York City's restaurants. In this post, Senior Folklife Specialist Nancy Groce reflects on the ephemeral nature of this foodways tradition, as dining sheds are now disappearing from the city's restaurants.
Posted in: COVID-19 American History Project, COVID-19 pandemic, Fieldwork, Foodways, Material Culture, New York
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
The American Folklife Center recently posted a new collection of interviews with workers at the Tillamook County Creamery Association (TCCA), a farmer-owned dairy cooperative in coastal Oregon, to its Occupational Folklife Project website. This post is an interview with Dr. Jared Schmidt, a public folklorist based in Oregon, who conducted the interviews with TCCA workers. In 2021, Schmidt received an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center to undertake this research.
Posted in: Fieldwork, Foodways, Occupational Folklife Project, Oral History, Oregon, Uncategorized, Wisconsin
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
The American Folklife Center is seeking an organization to conduct oral history interviews with Americans about the COVID-19 pandemic, as part of the COVID-19 American History Project. In this post, learn more the opportunity and how to apply.
Posted in: COVID-19 American History Project, COVID-19 pandemic, Fieldwork, Narratives, Oral History, Uncategorized
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
In 2023, the American Folklife Center contracted Gran Enterprises LLC to conduct interviews with licensed funeral professionals about their COVID-19 pandemic experiences for the COVID-19 American History Project. This post is an interview with Anita Grant and Joél Maldonado of Gran Enterprises. In it, they detail their inspiration for the project, their initial findings, and why documenting licensed funeral professionals' pandemic experiences is important for understanding Americans' experiences with COVID-19.
Posted in: African Americans, COVID-19 American History Project, COVID-19 pandemic, Fieldwork, Folk Medicine, Narratives, Storytelling, Uncategorized
Posted by: Douglas D. Peach
In 2023, the American Folklife Center contracted folklorist Nicole Musgrave to conduct interviews with Appalachian-based child care workers about their COVID-19 pandemic experiences for the COVID-19 American History Project. The post, guest authored by Musgrave, details her inspiration for the project, the initial findings from her interviews, and why documenting child care workers' pandemic experiences is important for understanding Americans' experiences with COVID-19.
Posted in: Appalachia, COVID-19 American History Project, COVID-19 pandemic, Fieldwork, Folklorists, Kentucky, Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Uncategorized
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
This post is an excerpt of an interview with 2024 American Folklife Center Community Collections Grant recipient Dr. Ashley Minner Jones on her project, Beyond Baltimore Street: Living Lumbee Legacies, as part of the Library of Congress Of the People: Widening the Path initiative.
Posted in: AFC Awards, Fieldwork, Maryland, Native American History
Posted by: Meg Nicholas
In honor of American Wetlands Month, AFC Folklife Specialist Meg Nicholas takes readers on a journey through the swamps, bogs, marshes and bayous documented in several AFC archival collections.