This page is being totally revamped, so things are a wee bit messy.
Basically I have combined all the links pages into one big links page, and I am slowly going back through and reorganizing everything for greater usability. The great thing is that the reason this page is so messy is because there is so much wonderful stuff out there to link to!
I should have this fixed soon. Until then, here are all the links in a less than fully organized fashion:
Oral History/Historical Memory/Folklife:
Alaska Native Knowledge Network
American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress
Archive of American Folk Medicine
An online version of folklorist Wayland Hand’s amazing research.
Arizona State Museum Southwest Cultural Podcasts Created by students and native artists, these podcasts and photos walk you through the exhibits including the exhibit “Masks of Mexico.”
The Cultural Memory Bank Project, a part of the SEEDS Project which works to save Native American heritage seeds and agricultural knowledge in the southwest.
Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures
Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky Oral History Project
Fieldworing Online: A Community for Researchers and WritersA wonderful resource for anyone engaging in fieldwork and/or teaching others how to do so.
Florida Cultural Heritage Alliance
Folksteams, an online National Preserve of Documentary Films about American Roots Cultures.
The Group for Cultural Documentation
Montana Heritage Project
A project where high school students research, preserve, and analyze Montana history.
National Museum of the American Indian
Voices of New York Traditions An online collection of audio documentaries exploring traditional art and artists in the New York area.
Oral History Association, a national association/community and clearinghouse for all things oral history. Includes a link to to their list serve, annual conference dates, calls for papers, and a multitude of resources.
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
University of Missiourri exhibit, Work is Art and Art is Work an online version of their recent luthier exhibit.
The Veteran’s History Project, a project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Wisconsin Folks, a site highlighting traditional and multi-cultural artists in Wisconsin.
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K-12 Education
Many folklife programs offer educational projects that may not have a specific web-based home. See the sites listed above for additional information on educational sources or contact a folklorist near you to see about educational programs in your area. Special thanks to Paddy Bowman, coordinator of the Network for Folk Arts in Education, for opening my eyes to many of these projects.
American Memory Learning Page at the Library of Congress
CARTS, Cultural Arts Resources for Teachers and Students
Center for the Study of the Built Environment
Digital Traditions, a website providing access to the folklife resources at the McKissick Museum in South Carolina.
Louisiana Voices Folklife in Eduction Project
Hmong Cultural Tour , an educational program of the The Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures.
Teacherlore Blog, reflections on the educational process from the Montana Heritage Project.
Putting the Movement Back into Civil Rights Teaching
Rural School and Community Trust
Teaching Tolerance, an educational program of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Human Rights, Peacebuilding and Dialog:
International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life.
Coexistence International, a research and support center for “conflict prevention, management, resolution, and transformation, as well as peacebuilding, and diversity/multicultural work.” Folklorists and cultural workers see especially their publications, including the very helpful paper “Focus on Coexistence and the Arts.”
The Arts of Building Peace: Stories of Cultural Workers and and Artist-Peacebuilders, a collection of papers written by undergrad and graduate students at Brandis University.
Global Human Rights Education Association
Rural Organizations, Topics, and Issues
The Center for Rural Strategies, seeking “to improve economic and social conditions for communities in the countryside and around the world through the creative and innovative use of media and communications.”
Daily Yonder, a daily multi-media buffet of news, commentary, research, and features regarding rural American.
The Rural Assembly, “The National Rural Assembly is a movement of people and organizations devoted to building a stronger, more vibrant rural America.”
SPECIFIC TO ARKANSAS
Arkansas Advocate for Children and Families
Arkansas Citizens First Congress, a coalition of community grassroots organizations from around the state.
Arkansas and Globalization Blog An online discussion about the effects of the globalized marketplace on individual communities in Arkansas.
Arkansas Senate, State Capitol Week in Review
The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
SPECIFIC to KENTUCKY
Living the Story, the Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky
RADIO AND PODCASTS:
Iowa Roots, a partnership between the Iowa Arts Council and Iowa Public Radio.
National Museum of the American Indian Podcasts
National Writing Project’s Rural Voices Radio
National Radio Project’s Making Contact
Showcasing voices and perspectives rarely heard in mainstream media, Making Contact focuses on the human realities of politics and the connections between local and global events, emphasizing positive and creative ways to solve problems.
Blogs
Facing South, a New Voice for the Changing South
Other
Highlander Research and Education Center
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Journal of the Nonprofit World
Includes information about the world of grants and funding, general information about managing a nonprofit, and current issues in the nonprofit world, including budget cuts.
Only Slightly Related Links…But Fun and Important Nonetheless
Sow True, Seed Saving Information
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This page is always growing as I add new resources to the list. If you have any recommendations of resources not listed here, please email me: meredith.martin466@wku.edu
Appalshop
An example of locally produced media and dialog focusing on social justice research. Appalshop’s programs are too numerous to list. If you are unfamiliar with Appalshop, devote at least a few hours to acquainting yourself with their resources including locally produced media, combinations of folklore, oral history, and theatre, and community dialog.
American Folklore Society Online Public Folklore Information.
This link serves as a portal to many of the state and national folklore programs out there. A good place to go if you are browsing for inspiration or hoping to get a quick overview of what public programs are doing.
Anne Braden Institute
A recently opened research center at the University of Louisville, they write, “Our mission is to bridge the gap between academic research and community activism for social justice. To do so, we stimulate and support interdisciplinary scholarship on social movements, citizen participation, public policy reforms, and social, racial, gender and economic justice.”
The Association of American Cultures.
The goals of the Association of American Cultures are to convene “artists and cultural workers that are reflective of our pluralistic society to inform and advocate for democratic cultural policy.” This site serves as a great networking tool for others interested in this intersection. The organization produces a bulletin with informative updates on related culture/folklore fieldwork research and human rights work as well as provide helpful grant information.
Boggs Center
According to their webpage, “For nearly forty years, the Boggs’ home at 3061 Field St. has been a community center and think-tank drawing together individuals and organizations from diverse backgrounds. People from around the world have come to create and discuss visions and strategies relating to local community struggles, workers’ movements, and global campaigns for social justice.” Although the Center is located in Detroit, the online source has numerous articles and online discussions about education, history, literature, and poetry.
CARTS: Cultural Arts Resources for Teachers and Students.
CARTS is an excellent online source connecting folklorists and traditional artists with educators. CARTS is an extension of City Lore’s education programs. (Citylore.org). Their mission statement reads, “We believe that our quality of life is tied to the vitality of our grassroots folk cultures — the neighborhoods and communities in which we live our daily lives.” Although focused on New York and opportunities available through City Lore, many of the educational activities could be adapted for other locations. Additionally, their focus is on human rights: “In an era when mass culture and commercial media increasingly press upon our lives and threaten us with sameness, traditional culture — whether our own or our neighbor’s — is a resource we can turn to for renewed inspiration and a better quality of life.” They also published the CARTS newsletter, which can keep educators up to date on folklore in the classroom.
Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching Online Companion Guide.
A companion guide to Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching. Wonderful online lesson plans, links to other related web pages, countless lists of sources, etc. This could make a great Folklore and Education webpage review.
Highlander Research Center—Seeds of Fire Youth Project.
Highlander Research Center, once known as the Highlander Folk School, has been leading the way in culture-based participatory research for decades. This link provides information about the “Seeds of Fire” Youth Camp. This education program appears to put youth at the center, encouraging them to work together to address problems affecting youth today.
Human Rights Resource Center.
The online source for the Human Rights Resource Center. Contains multiple downloadable human rights education materials which would work well for after-school programs, public folklore programs, and folklore and education lesson plans. Also contains links to advocacy networks. See especially the “This is My Home: K-12 Human Rights Education Initiative and Curriculum which can be found on the first page.
Muhammad Ali Research Center
A wealth of human rights based educational materials can be found under the education section of this site. Even though many of these resources are for adult education, they could easily be adapted for use in after school programs for youth or even in the public school classroom. You can also book a tour to visit the center.
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond provides deep background information for the creation of social justice based education programs. Their list of sources and anti-racist bibliography is excellent.
Philadelphia Folklore Project
The Philadelphia Folklore Project is one of the only public folklore programs that openly asserts a human rights based approach to their work. In their “about” section they write, “Here at the Philadelphia Folklore Project, we are committed to paying attention to the experiences and traditions of “ordinary” people. Our focus is to build critical folk cultural knowledge, sustain vital and diverse living cultural heritage in communities in our region, and create equitable processes and practices for nurturing local grassroots arts and humanities.” Click on their education section for resources for the classroom. Also check out their regular newsletter for excellent articles and discussions.
Reclaiming Youth Network
The Reclaiming Youth Network is anti-violence and youth based training program, which provides conferences as well as many publications. Most of their sources must be ordered. However there is some downloadable information available. The goals of education under the “Circle of Courage” section are particularly helpful in envisioning a human rights based approached to youth education. They often use what they call “the Life Space Interview” which in many ways is a form of oral history or folklore interviewing. Many of the state goals of this project compare to the Alaska Native Knowledge Network.
Social Justice Fund
Located in the Northwest, the Social Justice Fund is a member supported foundation working to organize and engage in social justice grant writing. Although they do not have any educational materials online, the information listed under their “Mission, Vision, and Values” section of the webpage is a very informative source for envisioning human rights based education. Their webpage is also a great resource of researching available grants related to social justice and cultural work.
Teaching for Change.
An enormous online resource for educators and others interested in the intersection of human rights and social justice activism through education. There are multiple online downloadable sources for elementary through high school age students. Some of these educational tools would work well when combined with folklore resources, especially if they were local in nature.
Teaching Tolerance
The educational arm of the Southern Poverty Law Center, this webpage offers a wealth of information for educators hoping to combine cultural studies and anti-hate and tolerance work. You can subscribe to the newsletter and download pdfs from the site. Their most recent online source is “the ABCs of Race and Gender in the Primaries,” certainly a relevant topic for today. What I like best about Teaching Tolerance is its focus on dialog and encouraging educators and cultural workers to address issues head-on rather than ignore them.