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Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Katherine Dunham is perhaps most famous for her influence on modern American dance with the introduction of African and Caribbean dance movement. That work began with ethnographic work in the Caribbean in 1936. Films made during her research have been put online by the Music Division of the Library of Congress in Selections from the …
Posted in: African American History, Dance, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
On February 18, 2020, the Library of Congress hosted an unusual event, a celebration of African American dolls and puppets sponsored by the American Folklife Center’s Benjamin Botkin Lecture Series. Folklorist Camila Bryce-Laporte and fellow artist, Dr. Deborah Grayson, presented several artists from Maryland and the District of Columbia. The event also included a wonderful …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans, Folk Art, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
From the very beginnings of the Women’s suffrage movement, the organizers realized that they needed to use symbolism to help get their message across and make it memorable. This month we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote, as it was ratified on August 18, …
Posted in: Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Although the Library of Congress is temporarily closed to the public and staff are, as possible, working from home, the work of the Library continues. It is heartening to see that one of the most labor intensive areas of work, putting archival collections online, continues in spite of the precautions against the COVID-19 pandemic. The …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Bess Lomax Hawes, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with the Sattriya Dance Company with the Dancing Monks of Assam Traditional Dance from Assam, India. This is one of two related …
Posted in: Asian American History, Dance, Homegrown Plus, Oral History, Religion, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with a performance of Kuchipudi dance by the Kalanidhi Dance Company from Maryland and an oral history with their director, Anuradha Nehru. This is …
Posted in: Asian American History, Dance, Homegrown Plus, Oral History, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Folklorists are often very interested in movements to improve social conditions. They do not necessarily focus on famous or prominent people, though sometimes they do. Ethnographers often are interested in the grass roots origins of movements and the consequences of such movements for ordinary people. For women in the workplace, the American Folklife Center has …
Posted in: Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
If asked her about her profession, Ruby Pickens Tartt (1880-1974) would say that she was a painter. In an era when Alabama women rarely attended college, she graduated from the Chase School of Art in New York and painted and taught painting for much of her life. But folklorists consider her one of their own. She was …
Posted in: Folklorists, Women's History
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This photo of an unknown Crow Indian girl has always fascinated me. Everything about her tells a story — but I don’t know the full story. The American Folklife Center’s Montana Field Survey, which includes this photo, was done fairly quickly, identifying places and people that might be studied in more depth at a later …
Posted in: Native American History, Women's History