Benjamin A. Botkin, former head of the Archive of American Folk Song, Library of Congress. Photo courtesy of the National Council for the Traditional Arts.

Benjamin A. Botkin Folklife Lecture Series

Through the Benjamin A. Botkin Folklife Lecture Series, the American Folklife Center presents the best of current research and practice in Folklore, Folklife, and closely related fields. The series invites professionals from academia and the public sector to present findings from their research. The lectures are free and open to the public. In addition, each lecture is recorded for permanent deposit in the Archive of Folk Culture, where researchers can access them.

Benjamin A. Botkin (1901-1975) was a pioneering folklorist who believed that people continually create folklore out of their collective experiences. He was national folklore editor of the Federal Writers' Project (1938-39), chief editor of the Writers' Unit of the Library of Congress Project (1939-1941), head of the Archive of American Folksong (1942-45), and author of numerous folklore treasuries. The American Folklife Center is indebted to his work as both a folklorist and a government official. For all these reasons, the American Folklife Center has chosen to name this lecture series in his honor. Select this link for a biographical sketch, " Benjamin Botkin's Legacy-in-the-Making," by Jerrold Hirsch.

2009 BOTKIN LECTURES

Request ADA accommodations five days in advance at 202-707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov

Past lectures of the 2009 season:

Hear, O Israel: Yiddish-American Radio 1925-1955, presented by Henry Sapoznik, University of Wisconsin. October 14, 2009. (Webcast currently unavailable)

Built with Faith: Place Making and the Religious Imagination in Italian New York, presented by Joseph Sciorra, Queens University, City University of New York. September 23, 2009. (Webcast currently unavailable)

Documenting Katrina and Rita in Houston, presented by Carl Lindahl, University of Houston and Pat Jasper, Austin, Texas, August 13, 2009.

"The High Lonesome Sound Revisited: Documenting Traditional Culture in America," presented by filmmaker John Cohen. June 11, 2009.

"The Sound of Islamic Music: Women's Voices and the Indonesian Religious Soundscape," presented by Anne K. Rasmussen, Associate Professor of Music and Ethnomusicology, College of William and Mary. May 13, 2009. (Webcast currently unavailable)

"We Had Sneakers, They Had Guns: The Kids Who Fought for Civil Rights in Mississippi," presented by illustrator and journalist Tracy Sugarman. May 15, 2009.

"Warning of Global Warming? Shamanic Tradition, Politics and Ecological Change in Siberia," presented by Marjorie Mandelstam Balzer, Georgetown University. April 30, 2009. (Webcast currently unavailable)

"Living and Building between Tradition and Change: Vernacular Architecture in Northern Sweden," Mats Widbom, Cultural Counselor, Embassy of Sweden. March 24, 2009.

"Revolutionaries, Nursery Rhymes, and Edison Wax Cylinders: The Remarkable Tale of the Earliest Korean Sound Recordings," presented by Robert Provine, University of Maryland. January 27, 2009.

Botkin Lecture Series Online Archive

Includes descriptions of each lecture and informational essays from the event flyers. Online video of the lectures are available for selected events.

2009 Lecture Series

2008 Lecture Series

2007 Lecture Series

2006 Lecture Series

2005 Lecture Series

2004 Lecture Series