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Category: Occupational Folklife Project

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

The Third Season of the ‘America Works’ Podcast is Here!

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is kicking off 2022 with the much-awaited third season of "America Works," a podcast series celebrating the diversity, resilience and creativity of American workers in the face of economic uncertainty. The new season, launched today, features riveting stories from a teacher and workers at a circus, a meat plant, a vineyard, and a now-closed Boeing factory, among others. The first episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and at loc.gov/podcasts. Subsequent episodes will be released each Thursday through March 10, 2022. This blog post contains links and an episode guide to the season.

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

Teaching in Wisconsin Classrooms: New Occupational Folklife Project Collection Documents Some of America’s Most Essential Workers

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Just in time for the start of a new school year, the American Folklife Center has posted to its website a wonderful new collection of Occupational Folklife Project interviews documenting Teaching in Wisconsin Classrooms. This important resource features in-depth interviews with 32 dedicated, resourceful and creative elementary teachers throughout the state of Wisconsin. Given the essential role played by American teachers, it is perhaps surprising that the AFC archive previously contained so few first-person narratives by classroom teachers documenting their work lives. This collection begins to address that gap.

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

New Occupational Folklife Project Interviews Go Online

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The following news comes to us from AFC senior folklife specialist Nancy Groce. The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress is delighted to announce that five new Occupational Folklife Project collections are now available on the Library of Congress website. They are: “Boeing Aircraft Factory Workers,” “Trash Talk: Workers in Vermont’s Waste …

Jeff Hafler sits in a chair in a hair salon.

American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress Launches Podcast ‘America Works’

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is delighted to announce a new podcast:  “America Works.” It is based on our Occupational Folklife Project collection, and tells fascinating stories of American workers. You can listen to a trailer for this exciting new series in the player below: Listen and Subscribe to “America Works” …

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

New Occupational Folklife Project Interviews Go Online

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This post was written with Nancy Groce, the coordinator of the Occupational Folklife Project for AFC. The American Folklife Center is delighted to announce that four new Occupational Folklife Project collections are now available on the Library of Congress website. They are “Working the Waterfront: New Bedford, Massachusetts;” “Funeral Service Workers in the Carolinas;” “Illuminating …

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

New at AFC: Photography from the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

Posted by: Stephen Winick

The American Folklife Center (AFC) is excited to be featuring “Working on the Waterfront,” a documentary display of photographs created by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (NBFHC) in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The display, which is located in Room LJ-G53 on the ground floor of the Library of Congress’s Thomas Jefferson Building, is open to …

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

“A Culture of Caring”: Documenting Home Health Care Workers

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

This guest post is by Professor Bob Bussel of the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center in Eugene, who organized the documentary team that produced the collection now online as “Taking Care”: Documenting Home Health Care Workers that is part of the Occupational Folklife Project.  Home care workers represent what scholars describe as a …