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.

2011 Botkin Lectures

Ginger Cucolo.

November 10, 2011, 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd Floor, James Madison Building

"We're Not Leaving":  Responders Oral Histories Redefine 9/11 presented by Benjamin Luft

In this talk, Benjamin Luft, MD, will present his work with 9/11 responders. Luft established the Long Island World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Center at SUNY Stony Brook, which follows approximately 6,000 responders to the 9/11 disaster. Since 2008, he has offered a highly successful seminar based at the Center for medical students called "9/11: The Anatomy of a Health Care Disaster." He gathered together experts from a variety of disciplines, including lawyers, ministers, philosophers, social workers, psychiatrists, economists, industrial hygienists, and others who present and mentor the medical students in a kaleidoscope of viewpoints on the disaster. The student reviews have been exuberant, noting the particular profundity of the seminar. This year the reach of this course will be greatly extended through its dissemination as a webinar as well.

This past year, Dr. Luft added an entirely new dimension to the Center through his oral history project, "Remembering 9/11 Responders." This archive of recorded interviews of the responders telling their stories and experiences has generated a whole spectrum of activities that will affect both the local community and society as a whole. These archives are being utilized as a basis for a curriculum being developed for public schools and libraries; in addition, graduate students have already inquired about utilizing the archives for their doctoral dissertation research. In addition, he has developed a website, www.911respondersremember.org, where people can view excerpts from the interviews and learn more about the project. The Library of Congress will be the repository for the archives upon its completion in September 2012. These oral histories are the basis for a documentary created in collaboration with public television stations WLIW21 and WNET13, and for an independent documentary film, 9/11: An American Requiem, which debuted at the 2011 Stony Brook Film Festival.

Dr. Benjamin J. Luft is the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of Lyme disease and AIDS-related conditions. He has been at the forefront of the care of patients with toxoplasmosis, AIDS, and Lyme disease, developing new diagnostic tests and therapeutics based on a fundamental understanding of the patient and the disease process. His approach toward understanding these disease processes has often lead to the development of multidisciplinary teams of physicians, molecular biologists, chemists, evolutionists, and physicists, and has also brought about many discoveries, including a new bioengineered vaccine for Lyme disease that is now undergoing clinical trials in Europe. His work has also contributed to the development of many of the modalities that are used in the treatment of both toxoplasmosis and Lyme disease.

The Long Island World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Center at SUNY Stony Brook follows approximately 6,000 responders to the 9/11 disaster. Through the leadership, vision, and creativity, of Benjamin Luft, the Center has been an incubator of inventive programs that have benefited not only its patients, but medical students, the local community and, most recently, society at large. Dr. Luft's approach to caring for this unique population at the Center is a perfect example of incorporating an empathetic understanding into a health care delivery system. He developed a collaborative care approach that aims to tackle the difficult task of treating both the medical and psychiatric problems of this patient population, which, due to its makeup, is particularly resistant to psychiatric intervention. By training the internists in psychiatry, as well as providing special sensitivity training for the entire staff, all of whom are considered part of the "team" in caring for the responders, Dr. Luft has effectuated a highly successful model of care for the responders.

2012 Botkin Lectures

January 26, 2012, 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm
Mary Pickford Theater, 3rd Floor, James Madison Building

Dog Tags book cover.

The 100 year anniversary of the official use of American personal identity tags, affectionately known as Dog Tags, recently passed without fanfare. We are currently in a war where the Dog Tag is once again a highly personal item to warriors of every service and to their families as well. Every Dog Tag carries its own human interest story. Receiving it, hanging it around the neck, and feeling it is a silent statement of committment. The tag itself individualizes the human being who wears it within a huge and faceless organization. While the armed forces demand obediance and duty to a higher cause, the Dog Tag, hanging under each service member's shirt and close to their chest, becomes a part of them. It brings comfort to that fear of every soldier facing death: I do not want to be forgotten; I will not become an "unknown." Understanding and sharing the history of Dog Tags and their deeply personal meaning in today's world is at the core of this book.

Ginger Cucolo.

Ginger Cucolo is married to a career Infantryman with thirty-two years of active duty service. His dog tags have forever been a part of his extended self. She is the daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, and niece of servicemen. Ginger has written articles and been published in magazines and newspapers regarding this topic. She holds a Bachelor Degree in History from The University of Texas, and a Master of Science Degree from California College for Health Sciences. For more information, see her website Dog Tag History

Botkin Lecture Series Online Archive

Includes descriptions of each lecture and informational essays from the event flyers. Links to webcasts of lectures are included as available.

2011 Lecture Series

2010 Lecture Series

2009 Lecture Series

2008 Lecture Series

2007 Lecture Series

2006 Lecture Series

2005 Lecture Series

2004 Lecture Series