2019 Summer Field School

FOLK/LIS 490: Field Methods and the Public Presentation of Folklore is a three-credit, six-week blended course in which we will be documenting Norwegian-American folk arts and folklife. We’ll be learning about immigration to the area and how that immigration has shaped, and continues to shape the region, by examining articles, films, music, and, of course, participant observation and interviews. We’ll meet with archivists, academics, and curators; we’ll visit museums and heritage centers; we’ll interview artists and community members, all while getting to know the area first-hand. By the end of the course, we’ll have worked together to create a public presentation of all that we’ve learned. This course will be predominantly online along with a required fieldwork trip to Decorah, IA, from June 18–June 23 for which funding is available for transportation, lodging, and per diem expenses.

The course meets with SCAND ST 496: The Scandinavian Heritage in America.