Film, Video Rewriting America: Recovering Voices in the Federal Writer's Project
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Title
- Rewriting America: Recovering Voices in the Federal Writer's Project
Summary
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress hosted a one-day symposium bringing together the contemporary perspectives of public scholars, documentary producers and curators on the legacy of the Federal Writers' Project (1935-39). The event focused attention on the ways in which the Library's extraordinary archival collection of materials continues to inform and inspire public outreach and interdisciplinary scholarship in fields ranging from public and oral history to journalism to ethnic studies and folklore. The focused presentations by a wide array of participants have the broader aim of considering how the stories of Americans are central to our diverse national identity and to preserving our democracy. Roundtable discussion on recovering lost voices.
The program iswasanchored by contributing authors to the recently published "Rewriting America: New Essays on the Federal Writers' Project." It featured a rich array of scholarship on topics including new readings of the narratives of formerly enslaved African Americans, the practice and production of oral history podcasts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and emergent research into the once-obscured work of Asian American and Mexican American writers in the Federal Writers' Project. Other scholars, such as historians John Edgar Tidwell, Catherine Stewart and Carole Emberton participated in roundtable discussions alongside Library curators, folklorists and media producers.
Event Date
- June 16, 2023
Related Resources
- Rewriting America: Reconsidering the Federal Writers' Project 80 Years Later: https://guides.loc.gov/2023-federal-writers-project-symposium
Running Time
- 1 hours 11 minutes 33 seconds
Online Format
- video
- image
- online text