FOLK STUDIES 585: Public Folklore Policy and Practice in Washington DC Syllabus & Itinerary Winter 2015, January 9-23 Brent Bjorkman (Brent.Bjorkman@Wku.Edu)

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FOLK STUDIES 585: Public Folklore Policy and Practice in Washington DC Syllabus & Itinerary Winter 2015, January 9-23 Brent Bjorkman ([email protected])

For years, folklorists have made it their lives’ work to help document, present and conserve the traditional arts and cultural heritage of our nation. Even from the earliest days of these passionate pursuits, key figures like Benjamin Botkin, chairman of the Federal Writer’s Project, helped to shape the importance and understanding of these vernacular expressions of culture and “insisted that democracy is strengthened by the valuing of myriad cultural voices” of Americans, not only those of a chosen few. Folklorists have recognized the need to create mechanisms at the national level to foster the growth of their efforts nationwide and to ensure that traditional arts and culture are a national priority. After the turn of the last half of the 20th century these notions to preserve and promote the traditional arts and culture of the country were furthered by the creation of folklife programs within federal cultural entities like the National Endowment for the Arts, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Institution.

In this course, we will travel to the nation’s capital to explore the diverse range of work being done in the area of cultural policy as it relates to public folklore documentation, presentation and conservation by the folklife agencies based there. Over this five-day period the class will meet with a variety of cultural policy specialists from The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Park Service, among others. In preparation for our trip we will read relevant texts and familiarize ourselves with web-based content of these government cultural agencies and organizations with whom we will be visiting.

This Study Away course requires that students 1) meet in the classroom the week prior to the trip to discuss the assigned readings and various agency/organizational web content, concepts, and the upcoming trip itself 2) fully participate in all aspects of trip to DC 3) Attend and participate in a trip debrief and 4) complete all assignments as outlined in the final course syllabus.

Learning Outcomes

Students will • Achieve an in-depth understanding of these government entities, their role in traditional arts conservation as it relates to public folklore policy topics such as archive management, funding, promotion, presentation and documentation of folk culture. • Gain a working knowledge of the depth and breadth of the field of public folklore by o Engaging with national folklore and cultural specialists who use folklore/folklife practice as part of their agency/organizational work o Examining and exploring policy implications and practical outcomes as it relates to public folklore/historical preservation/museums work • Begin networking with leaders in the fields of Public Folklore, Cultural Resources Management, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Historic Preservation. • Demonstrate, through both oral and written means, an understanding of the concepts of public

1 folklore in these varied forms as they apply in the specific settings experienced in this course.

Required Texts There will be selected texts that and agency web links will be available via Blackboard; follow the link marked “Readings” on the left. You must read the selected texts, thoroughly review the agency web links and be ready to discuss them in class.

Course Requirements Daily Journal 25% After each day of the Washington trip you will write a 2-page (minimum) journal entry in which you make connections between course readings and your experiences and observations of meeting with cultural professionals on that day.

Participation 25% Participation in both the classroom components and the trip are mandatory. Students are expected to attend each day’s scheduled meetings and fully participate in all planned activities during the trip. Students must also follow all rules of the program and be punctual.

Final Research Paper and Presentation 50% Students will write a 15-20 page research paper on a particular aspect of folklife/folklore public policy as it relates to federal agencies. This presentation/analysis is expected to draw on knowledge gained from all aspects of class content including course readings, experiential knowledge gained through interacting with DC cultural specialists (reflect on your journal entries), and additional research. During the first week of spring semester, class participants will give a 15-minute presentation based on this paper.

Meeting Schedule & Itinerary We will meet in the classroom the week prior to the trip and following our return to discuss the assigned readings and various agency/organizational web content, concepts, and the trip itself: Readings and daily meeting schedule in DC are subject to change prior to the beginning of the course.

• Pre-Trip Meeting – Friday January 9th – 10 am-noon – Pioneer Log Cabin, WKU Campus o On this date we will meet to discuss the assigned readings and various agency/organizational web content, concepts, and the upcoming trip itself (logistical travel information as well)

• Day 1: Sunday January 11th o Depart Nashville International Airport (BNA) for Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA). Arrive midmorning for quick hotel check-in then DC sightseeing to DC museums

• Day 2: Monday January 12th o Visit with Leaders and Heritage Preservation Specialists at the National Park Service

2 • Day 3: Tuesday January 13th o Visit with Leaders and Folklife Specialists at the Smithsonian Institution including representatives of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Folkways Records, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archive, CFCH Educational Specialists, Folklife Curators and possibly representatives from the National Anthropological Archives at the Smithsonian (National Museum of Natural History)

• Day 4: Wednesday January 14th o Visit with Leaders and Folklife Specialists at the American Folklife Center (AFC) and Library of Congress (LOC)

• Day 5: Thursday January 15th o Visit with Leaders and Folklife Specialists at the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) Folk and Traditional Arts Program and National Endowment for the Humanities

o Day 6: Friday January 16th o A day to explore DC and connect further with specific contacts o possible group excursions include tour of Capitol with Kentucky congressional Representatives o Time allotted to further explore DC museums and national monuments on your own. o Evening – Farewell Dinner with the group

• Post-Trip Meeting Monday January 19th – 10 am Pioneer Log Cabin, WKU Campus o On this date we will meet to discuss our Study Away experience. Student will share both personal thoughts from journal entries and more about the direction of their individual policy paper (Due Friday January 23 by 11 pm)

• 15-minute presentation to Folk Studies Faculty and Graduate Students – Week of January 26th (specific date, time and place of presentation TBA) o Each Study Away student will prepare and present a 10-minute presentation based on their research. I highly suggest using multi-media for this final component.