Folklore Archive: Student Field Projects Photographs

Collection

Identifier: WSAV002714

Staff Only

Scope and Content

Collection consists of 71 projects (or aggregations of multiple projects on a single topic) conducted by student interviewer-collectors. Student field research projects cover a broad range of topics, with strengths in cultural object analysis, including quilting, artwork, Slavic eggs, and various handicrafts. There are multiple projects concerning quilting and explanations of different quilting patterns are included. Several projects include images of Detroit area homes circa 1980. There are several images of Edvard Kozak, a Ukrainian artist. The cultural diversity of the Detroit area is expressed in representations of Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Ukrainian, Greek, Italian, French-Canadian, German, Czechoslovakian, and African-American persons and their customs. Religious groups represented include Roman Catholic, International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Greek Orthodox, Judeo-Christianity, Serbian Orthodox, and Judaism. Multiple wedding customs, including dress and dancing, are addressed. The rich musical culture of Detroit is represented in topics such as blues, hammer dulcimers, fiddling, and kirchweih (dancing). The cultural norms of different teenage groups are explored via basketball, drag-racing, urban legends, and punk music. The Oversized Photographs depict rural labor workers on cotton plantations and coal mines.

Dates

1958 - 1982
Majority of material found within 1969 - 1980

Creator

Wayne State University. Folklore Archives (Organization)

Language of Materials

Material primarily in English. Some Ukrainian and German; other languages possible.

Access

Collection is open for research.

Patrons must make an appointment with the AV Department prior to visiting.

Conditions Governing Use

Refer to the Walter P. Reuther Library Rules for Use of Archival Materials.

For image reproduction, contact the AV Department.

History

Extent

4 Linear Feet (3 MB, 1OS, 319 slides, 11 envelopes) : Photographic prints (color, black and white), negatives, and 2x2 film slide transparencies; postcards; and artists' prints.

Additional Description

Abstract

The Folklore Archive, established in 1939 by WSU English professors Emlyn Gardner and Thelma James, contains the oldest and largest record of urban folk traditions in the United States. To document these traditions, Wayne State University students conducted field research projects, some of which included photographic records. Collection consists of 71 projects (or aggregations of multiple projects on a single topic) conducted by student interviewer-collectors. Student field research projects cover a broad range of topics, with strengths in cultural object analysis, including quilting, artwork, Slavic eggs, and various handicrafts. There are several images of Edvard Kozak, a Ukrainian artist. The cultural diversity of the Detroit area is expressed in representations of Middle Eastern, Lebanese, Ukrainian, Greek, Italian, French-Canadian, German, Czechoslovakian, and African-American persons and their customs.

Arrangement

Content arranged first by format and size. Material is then arranged numerically according to numbers assigned by the creator (photographic prints correspond to index).

Acquisition

Transferred to the Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs in July 1999 as part of selected materials from the Wayne State University Folklore Archive by the Folklore Archive director, Professor Janet Langlois.

Related Materials

Folders 2:20 and 3:7 have corresponding interviews in the Folklore Archive: Student Field Projects Oral Histories.

Projects may correspond to material in the Folklore Archive: Student Field Projects Records.

Other Folklore Archive Collections: Student Field Projects Oral Histories, Bruce L. Harkness Poletown Photographs, Greek-American Life Oral Histories, Southern Upland Folklife in the Midwest Oral Histories, Folklore Archive Research Projects Records