Benjamin A. Botkin Folklife Lecture Series Online Archive

All of the materials from the Botkin Lectures are available to visitors in the Folklife Reading Room. Selected materials will be made available online as digital versions are available and as permissions from the authors can be obtained. Select on the year of the lectures or speaker's names to read the full descriptions and to access any additional materials that may be available online. For the current schedule of the Botkin Lecture Series, go to the What's Happening at the American Folklife Center page.

2007 Lecture Series

"Afghan Women’s Stories: The Problematics of Cover" presented by Margaret Mills, Ohio State University. September 19, 2007. (Webcast available).

"Folklore’s Champion: Ben Botkin" presented by Roger D. Abrahams, Hum Rosen Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, at the University of Pennsylvania. August 15, 2007. (Webcast available).

"Quilters' Save Our Stories" presented by Bernard Herman, Professor of American Material Culture Studies and Professor of Art History at the University of Delaware. July 24, 2007.

"Down in the Old Belt: Voices from the Tobacco South," a film screening and lecture by documentary film maker Jim Crawford. July 5, 2007.

SYMPOSIUM: "All through the North, As I Walked Forth...": Northern Ireland's Place Names, Folklife and Landscape with presentations by Edward Redmond, Kay Muhr, and Henry Glassie. May 16, 2007.

Other 2007 AFC Lectures
In 2007 the following lectures were not part of The Botkin Lecture Series. These were associated with the Rediscover Northern Ireland Programme 2007. The lecture title link will go directly to the webcast.

North American Influence on a North Irish Folksong Collection, presented by John Moulden. Part of the Rediscover Northern Ireland Programme 2007, May 2, 2007. Time 0:59:23

"There's More that Unites Than Divides Us" Spoken and performed by Gary Hastings and Brian Mullen. Part of the Rediscover Northern Ireland Programme 2007, May 29, 2007. Time 1:29:01

2006 Lecture Series

Norma E. Cantú, Professor of English, University of Texas at San Antonio presented "La Quinceañera: A Coming of Age Ritual in Latino Communities. Wednesday, November 8, 2006. (Webcast available)

Frank Korom, Associate Professor of Religion and Anthropology at Boston University presented "The Changing Worlds of the Patuas of West Bengal." Wednesday, October 11, 2006. (Webcast available)

Diane Goldstein, Professor of Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland presented "What's in a Name?  AIDS, Vernacular Risk Perception and the Culture of Ownership" Thursday, October 4, 2006 (Webcast available)

David Stanley, professor of English at Westminster College presented "Cowboy Poetry: History, Origins, Influences, Forms." Thursday, September 14, 2006. (Webcast available)

Margaret Mills, Professor, Ohio State University Dept of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and Center for Folklore Studies; and, Kenneth Bilby, Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution Dept of Anthropology: A Special Presentation: "Politics and Poetics: Fieldwork in Afghanistan and Jamaica." August 3, 2006. (Webcast available)

Matthew Barton, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress, presented "Not the Same Old (Folk) Song and Dance: Field Recordings in the European Communities of the United States" July 27, 2006. (Webcast available)

Linda Goss, Professional storyteller, Artist-In-Residence at the Rosenbach Museum, and a featured artist in Philadelphia Folklore Project's Local Knowledge project, presented "Waking up the People." June 29, 2006. (Webcast available)

Dr. Bryan Bachner, Assistant Director of Legal Research at the Law Library of Congress and chief of the Eastern Law Division, presented "Facing the Music: Traditional Culture and Copyright." May 31, 2005. (Webcast available)

Dr. Daniel B. Botkin, Professor Emeritus, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, presented "The Folklore Behind Ecology, or Why Scientists in Ecology Need Help from Folklorists." April 5, 2006. (Webcast available)

2005 Lecture Series

Sara M. Davis, a New-York based writer and former researcher in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch discussed her book, Song & Silence, in which she reveals how Tai Lües are reviving and reinventing their culture in ways that contest the official state version. December 13, 2005.

Malkhaz Erkvanidze Ethnomusicologist, scholar and performer on collecting traditional sacred and secular music in the Republic of Georgia. Members of the Anchiskhati Choir assisted him with performance of material he and the members of his ensemble have collected. November 17, 2005. (Webcast available)

Frank Delaney author of the New York Times bestseller Ireland: A Novel Presented "The Beautiful Bridge: Crossing The Span Between Oral Tradition and the Written Creative Word." Scott Simon, NPR's Peabody-Award-winning correspondent and host of Weekend Edition Saturday introduced the speaker. October 11, 2005.

Ethnomusicologist Kip Lornell discussed the book he coauthored with Charles C. Stephenson Jr.
The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion of Funk and Hip-Hop. September 28, 2005.

Stephen D. Winick, Ph.D., of the American Folklife Center presented "Tales of the Jersey Devil" -- an Illustrated Lecture. August 23, 2005.

Dr. Alexandra Swaney of the Montana Arts Council presented "Bridles, Bits and Beads: Folk and Fieldwork from the High, Wide and Handsome State of Montana"-- an illustrated lecture. July 21, 2005.

Jane Beck, Folklorist and Executive Director of the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, Vermont presented "From Virginia to Vermont: a Trek from Slavery to Freedom" -- an audio illustrated lecture. June 23, 2005.

Stetson Kennedy, now 89, talked about his life and work in conversation with Dr. Peggy Bulger, Director of the American Folklife Center. May 24, 2005. (Webcast available)

Prof. Timothy Rice, ethnomusicologist, UCLA "Music in Bulgaria: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture," an illustrated lecture. March 23, 2005.

Dick Waterman, photographer, agent, manager, and promoter of traditional Blues artists presented "Between Midnight and Day" -- an illustrated lecture. February 23, 2005.

2004 Lecture Series

Douglas Manger, folklorist at the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Tatiana Irvine, independent radio producer, and Elanie Eff, folklorist at the Maryland Historical Trust present "From Bridge to Boardwalk, an Audio Journey Across Maryland's Eastern Shore" an Illustrated Lecture based on the CD and Book. October 21, 2004.

Angus Kress Gilespie, Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey, presents "The Lore of America's Coal Miners: A Fresh Look at the George Korson Collection." September 20, 2004.

Margaret Kruesi, American Folklife Center presents "From Patent Medicines to Patents for Indigenous Knowledge -- Material and Spiritual Economies" -- an illustrated lecture. August 31, 2004

Maria Carmen RA. Gambliel, Director Folk and Traditional Arts Program, Idaho Commission on the Arts presents "Basque Culture in the Western United States" -- an illustrated lecture. July 16, 2004

Dr. Natalie Kononenko, Professor of Slavic Languges, Lituratures, and Folklore at the University of Virginia presents "Ivan Kupalo: Ritual in Post-Soviet Ukraine" -- an Illustrated Lecture. June 16, 2004.

Nora Yeh, Ethnomusicologist, American Folklife Center. "Eight Sounds of Chinese Music" lecture illustrated with sounds and images of Chinese intstruments from 2100 BCE to the present. May 25, 2004.

Bart Plantenga, "Yodel-Ay-Ee-Ooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World"-- a lecture based on his recent book. Featuring yodelers Randy Irwin and Cathy Fink. April 27, 2004.

Illana Harlow, "Giving a Voice to Sorrow: Creative Responses to Death" an illustrated lecture presented by Illana Harlow of the American Folklife Center. March 23, 2004.

"Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories" presented by John Barton, American Folklife Center

Yong Xianrang, Artist and professer emeritus of the Bejing Central Academy of Fine Arts presents "Chinese Folk Art Today" -- an illustrated lecture. January 22, 2004.

Additional Lectures 0nline from 2005 and Earlier:

Journies and Crossings:

2005 Lecture Online: "Bringing in the May" by Jennifer Cutting, May, 1, 2005. This Web cast was created as part of the Library's Journeys and Crossings Series. Jennifer Cutting describes and displays some of the folk traditions surrounding May Day (May 1) in Britain and the United States. 16 minutes.

2004 Lecture Online: "Pearl Harbor Oral Histories" by Ann Hoog, June 8, 2004. This Web cast was created as part of the Library's Journeys and Crossings Series. Ann Hoog discusses After the Day of Infamy: 'Man-on-the-Street' Interviews Following the Attack on Pearl Harbor. 8 minutes.

Witness and Response:

2001 Lecture Online: Ann Hoog discusses the September 11, 2001 Documentary Project. Forms part of the Witness and Response, September 11, 2001 Acquisitions at the Library of Congress Library of Congress online exhibition. The video is presented on the American Folklife Center's section of the exhibit found at Witness and Response, September 11, 2001: American Folklife Center along with recordings of narratives, photographs of spontaneous memorials, and artwork by children related to the first weeks after September 11, 2001.