Benjamin A. Botkin Folklife Lecture Series Online Archive

All of the materials from American Folklife Center lectures are available to visitors in the Folklife Reading Room. Event flyer essays are available for all of the Botkin Lecture Series events listed here. Webcasts are available online unless otherwise noted (only a few webcasts are available prior to the 2006 season). For events that do not have webcasts online, audio or video recordings are available to researchers at the Library of Congress in the Folklife Reading Room. 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.

2008 Lecture Series

"A Bard of Nature’s Making: Robert Burns and Scottish Traditional Culture," presented by Valentina Bold, University of Glasgow. October 21, 2008. (Webcast currently unavailable)

"Kunqü: China's First Great Multi-art Theatrical Tradition," presented by Marjory Bong-Ray Liu, Arizona State University. September 4, 2008.

"'Do All Indians Live in Tipis?' and Other Compelling Questions for Education," presented by Edwin Schupman, National Museum of the American Indian. August 5, 2008.

"Old Cultures/New Contexts: Presenting the Traditional Music and Dance of Urban Immigrant Communities," Nancy Groce interviews Ethel Raim of the Center for Traditional Music and Dance. June 20. 2008.

"Seeing Mary: Belief, Politics, and Practice at Marian Apparition Sites," presented by Anne Pryor, Wisconsin Arts Board. June 3, 2008. (Webcast currently unavailable)

"Empires, Multiculturalisms, and Borrowed Heartsongs: What Does It Mean to Sing Russian/Mennonite Songs?" Presented by Jonathan Dueck, Ethnomusicologist, Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Maryland School of Music. May 21, 2008.

"From Oral Tradition to Critical Edition: The James Madison Carpenter Collection of Folk Music and Drama," presented by the James Madison Carpenter Project team: Julia C. Bishop, David Atkinson, Elaine Bradtke, Eddie Cass, Thomas A. McKean, Robert Young Walser, The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, UK. April 23, 2008. (Webcast currently unavailable)

“Force and Violins: What the FBI had on Folksingers,” presented by David King Dunaway, Professor of English, University of New Mexico and Professor of Broadcasting, San Francisco State University. March 19, 2008.

Rediscover Northern Ireland Events 2008: Lectures
In 2008 the following lectures were part of AFC's and are available as webcasts. The lectures were co-sponsored by the American Folklife Center's Benjamin Botkin Lecture Series and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The Rediscover Northren Ireland Events 2008 also included a concert by Tommy Sands and family. Follow the above link to the web page for more information.

"'It's Of My Rambles...' A Journey in the Song Tradition of Ulster," presented by Len Graham, November 6, 2008.

"'I Am a Wee Weaver': Weaving and Singing in Northern Ireland," presented by Maurice Leyden, December 4, 2008. (Webcast currently unavailable)

2007 Lecture Series

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

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

"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. (Webcast currently unavailable)

"Down in the Old Belt: Voices from the Tobacco South," a film screening and lecture by documentary film maker Jim Crawford. July 5, 2007. (Flyer essay only. No webcast was made for this film screening)

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. (Webcast currently unavailable)

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. Running 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. Running time 1:29:01

2006 Lecture Series

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

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

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

"Cowboy Poetry: History, Origins, Influences, Forms." presented by David Stanley, professor of English at Westminster College. September 14, 2006.

"Politics and Poetics: Fieldwork in Afghanistan and Jamaica." presented by 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. August 3, 2006.

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

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

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

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

See also, 2006 Homegrown lecture/concert:"Mister Jelly Roll, Mister Lomax and the Invention of Jazz," presented by writer and jazz scholar John Szwed and pianist Dave Burrell. January 18, 2006.

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. (No webcast available)

"Collecting and Performing Traditional Song in the Republic of Georgia," presented by Malkhaz Erkvanidze Ethnomusicologist, scholar and performer on collecting traditional sacred and secular music in the Republic of Georgia. Members of the Anchiskhati Choir assisted with performances of material he and the members of his ensemble have collected. November 17, 2005.

"The Beautiful Bridge: Crossing The Span Between Oral Tradition and the Written Creative Word," presented by Frank Delaney, author of the New York Times bestseller Ireland: A Novel. Scott Simon, NPR's Peabody-Award-winning correspondent, and host of Weekend Edition Saturday introduced the speaker. October 11, 2005. (No webcast available)

The Beat: Go-Go's Fusion of Funk and Hip-Hop. Ethnomusicologist Kip Lornell discussed the book he coauthored with Charles C. Stephenson Jr. September 28, 2005. (No webcast available)

"Tales of the Jersey Devil" — an Illustrated Lecture presented by Stephen D. Winick, Ph.D., of the American Folklife Center. August 23, 2005. (No webcast available)

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

"From Virginia to Vermont: a Trek from Slavery to Freedom" — an audio illustrated lecture presented by Jane Beck, Folklorist and Executive Director of the Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury, Vermont. June 23, 2005. (No webcast available)

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.

"Music in Bulgaria: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture" — an illustrated lecture presented by Prof. Timothy Rice, ethnomusicologist, UCLA. March 23, 2005. (No webcast available)

2004 Lecture Series

"From Bridge to Boardwalk, an Audio Journey Across Maryland's Eastern Shore" — an illustrated lecture based on the CD and book of the same title presented by Douglas Manger, folklorist at the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Tatiana Irvine, independent radio producer, and Elanie Eff, folklorist at the Maryland Historical Trust. October 21, 2004. (No webcast available)

"The Lore of America's Coal Miners: A Fresh Look at the George Korson Collection," presented by Angus Kress Gilespie, Rutgers: The State University of New Jersey. September 20, 2004. (No webcast available)

"From Patent Medicines to Patents for Indigenous Knowledge -- Material and Spiritual Economies" — an illustrated lecture presented by Margaret Kruesi, American Folklife Center. August 31, 2004. (No webcast available)

"Basque Culture in the Western United States," — an illustrated lecture presented by Maria Carmen RA. Gambliel, Director Folk and Traditional Arts Program, Idaho Commission on the Arts. July 16, 2004. (No webcast available)

"Ivan Kupalo: Ritual in Post-Soviet Ukraine" — an illustrated lecture presented by Dr. Natalie Kononenko, Professor of Slavic Languges, Lituratures, and Folklore at the University of Virginia. June 16, 2004. (No webcast available).

"Eight Sounds of Chinese Musicc" presented by Nora Yeh, Ethnomusicologist, American Folklife Center. The lecture was illustrated with sounds and images of Chinese intstruments from 2100 BCE to the present. May 25, 2004. (No webcast available)

"Yodel-Ay-Ee-Ooo: The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World" presented by Bart Plantenga. Featuring yodelers Randy Irwin and Cathy Fink. April 27, 2004. (No webcast available)

"Giving a Voice to Sorrow: Creative Responses to Death" — an illustrated lecture presented by Illana Harlow, of the American Folklife Center. March 23, 2004. (No webcast available)

"Voices from the Days of Slavery: Former Slaves Tell Their Stories" presented by John Barton, American Folklife Center. Februrary 25, 2004. (No webcast available)

"Chinese Folk Art Today," — an illustrated lecture presented by Yong Xianrang, Artist and professer emeritus of the Bejing Central Academy of Fine Arts. January 22, 2004. (No webcast available)

Additional Lectures Available 0nline from 2005 and Earlier. These are from the Library's Journies and Crossings Webcast Series, and from the September 11, Witness and Response Exhibition:

Journies and Crossings:

2005 Lecture Online:

"Bringing in the May" presented by Jennifer Cutting, American Folklife Center. 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. May, 1, 2005. Time: 16 minutes.

2004 Lecture Online:

"Pearl Harbor Oral Histories," presented by Ann Hoog, American Folklife Center. 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. June 8, 2004. Time: 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.