American Folklife Center Announces “Occupational Folklife and Fieldwork in the Post-Pandemic World” Programs

The American Folklife Center is happy to announce “Occupational Folklife and Fieldwork in the Post-Pandemic World: Adaptation, Innovation, and the Future, Parts 1 & 2,” a two-part series of hour-long online Zoom presentations with live Q&A, on July 13 and 20. Each of the program’s two parts will feature live 15-20 minute presentations by two Archie Green Fellows (AGF) with Nancy Groce serving as moderator.  Nancy is an AFC staff folklorist and director of the AGF program, as well as the host of our America Works podcast.  

Prior to the pandemic, Archie Green Fellows’ research, like so much folklife research, was predicated on in-depth in-person interviews documenting the experiences of contemporary American workers. The in-person aspect of the documentation process was, of course, severely disrupted by the pandemic. This 2-part series will explore these researchers’ adaptation to virtual research, describing what worked or didn’t work as they were forced to modify their methodologies and change to virtual online interviewing, as well as how they addressed or are addressing the challenges. Presentations will be followed by a short moderator-led discussion among participants, after which the speakers will respond to questions from pre-registered attendees. 

The Archie Green Fellows for part 1 on July 13 at 3:00 p.m. EST will include oral historian Sarah Filkins, who interviewed prominent women architects; and folklorist Ed Millar, who is in the midst of interviewing dirt track workers at western New York’s Ransomville Speedway. Visit Fieldwork in the Post-Pandemic World (Part 1) to register.  

Part 2 on July 20 at 3:00 p.m. EST will feature oral historian Alana Glazer, who is interviewing nurses working at Veterans Administration hospitals; and folklorists Josephine McRobbie and Joseph O’Connell, who documented midwives, doulas and other birth workers in North Carolina. To register, visit Fieldwork in the Post-Pandemic World (Part 2). More information about the series can be found at the Library of Congress.