Top of page

Category: Internship program

Group of people laying long poles across lit barbecue pit in ground

Caught My Eye: Buckaroos and Barbecues

Posted by: Allina Migoni

This is a guest blog post by Drew Holley, a master's student in the Folklore Studies program at Utah State University with a particular interest in food and film. Drew completed his internship at the American Folklife Center earlier this year. Today’s blog will showcase foodways collections (traditions and practices surrounding food) found at the American Folklife Center.

Head and shoulders portrait of Deena Owens

Folklife Interns 2023 on the Folklife Today Podcast

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We're back with another episode of the Folklife Today podcast! In this episode, John Fenn and I talk to our latest cohort of Bartis interns about their work. Each of them created a research guide for the Center, Joe Zavaan Johnson on African American banjo materials and Deena R. Owens on shape-note singing. In this blog we'll give you links to their great work and related resources, and of course the link to the podcast episode itself!

Text of image says Library of Congress, Folklife

New Faces at AFC: Staff and Interns

Posted by: John Fenn

Over the past several months we’ve become quite familiar with on-boarding new people here at the Center, as a steady flow of incoming staff and interns have arrived since April. It’s an exciting time for us, and we wanted to share a bit of information about the five wonderful team members who have joined us. …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Caught My Ear: The Lullaby That Came to Symbolize the Exodus of Cuba’s Children

Posted by: Stephen Winick

During her internship here at the American Folklife Center, Elisa Alfonso had the opportunity to explore many wonderful digital collections here at the Library of Congress. In particular she found many versions of a Spanish-language lullaby, “Señora Santana,” and noted fascination variations among versions, suggesting that a version collected primarily from Cuban Americans has become a vessel through which migrants talk about the sensations of trauma and loss that come with childhood forced migration. Read her observations, and hear several versions of the song, in her guest post.

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Welcome, 2022 Folklife Interns!

Posted by: John Fenn

The American Folklife Center staff happily welcomes our 2022 Folklife Interns, especially since they will be onsite with us at the Library of Congress! Elisa Alfonso and Bryan Jenkins deserve a hearty congratulations as the pool was again quite competitive this year, with over 170 candidates submitting applications. As with all prior years, the final …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Applications for paid summer internships now open!

Posted by: John Fenn

We are happy to announce that applications are open for our paid summer internship program—and this year we plan to host interns onsite! In summer 2018, the AFC at the Library of Congress launched a paid internship opportunity as part of a program established through a generous gift from the late AFC staff member Peter …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

2021 Folklife Interns: Welcome Aboard!

Posted by: John Fenn

The American Folklife Center staff is thrilled to welcome our 2021 Folklife Interns: Camille Acosta and Kennedi Johnson. It was a competitive application pool this year, with over 350 candidates—and extremely difficult to make final selections! They’ve both officially “on-boarded” at this point and are navigating the challenges and opportunities of doing a full-time internship …

Mitch Friesenborg standing in front of a tree on the campus

Arkansas: Home to Good Sweet Tea, Southern Hospitality and Amazing Veterans

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest blog post by Mitch Friesenborg, a summer intern in the office of U.S. Senator John Boozman (AR). He attends Harding University, and is a member of the Arkansas National Guard. In the year 2021, the United States is in relative peace. No teenager today is anxious at the chance they …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Summer 2021 Paid (Virtual) Internships at the AFC!

Posted by: John Fenn

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is happy to open applications for paid summer internships for 2021! In summer 2018, we launched a paid internship opportunity as part of a program established through a generous gift from our late colleague and longtime AFC staff member, Peter Bartis (1949 – 2017). These positions introduce …