Press contact: Jo Rasi (202) 707-1733; Donna Urschel (202) 707-1639; Erin Allen (202) 707-7302
Public contact: Mary Lou Reker (202) 707-3302

November 19, 2009

The American Folklife Center Announces the Alan Lomax Fellowship in Folklife Studies at the John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress

The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress invites qualified scholars to apply for a post-doctoral fellowship for advanced research based on the Alan Lomax Collection.

The Lomax Collection is a major collection of ethnographic field audio recordings, motion pictures, photographs, manuscripts, correspondence and other materials that represent Lomax’s lifetime of work to document and analyze traditional music, dance, storytelling and other expressive genres that arise from cultural groups in many parts of the world. Lomax (1915-2002) was one of the greatest documenters of traditional culture during the 20th century.

The Alan Lomax Fellows Program, established for a period of five years, supports scholarly research that contributes significantly to a greater understanding of the work of Lomax and the cultural traditions he documented over the course of a vigorous and highly productive 70-year career. It provides an opportunity, for a period of up to eight months, for concentrated use of materials from the Lomax Collection and other collections at the Library of Congress, through full-time residency at the Library.

The program supports research projects in the disciplines of anthropology, ethnomusicology, ethnography, ethno-history, dance, folklore and folklife, history, literature, linguistics and movement analysis, with particular emphasis on the traditional music, dance, and narrative of the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the Caribbean, as well as methodologies for their documentation and analysis. Interdisciplinary projects that combine disciplines in novel and productive ways are encouraged.

The Lomax fellow is expected to develop research of a publishable quality. As a Library of Congress resident scholar, fellows are also expected to make at least one public presentation about their research and to participate actively in Library events and programs as appropriate. The annual application deadline is Feb. 28, with the fellowship commencing anytime after Sept.1 of that same year.

For an application and information on the Lomax fellowships, visit www.loc.gov/loc/kluge/fellowships/lomax.html or contact the Kluge Center at (202) 707-3302 or scholarly@loc.gov. For more information about the Lomax Collection, visit www.loc.gov/folklife/lomax/.

Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world’s best thinkers to stimulate and energize one another to distill wisdom from the Library’s rich resources and to interact with policymakers in Washington. For further information on the Kluge Center, visit www.loc.gov/kluge/. For information on other Kluge Center fellowships, visit www.loc.gov/loc/kluge/fellowships/.

The American Folklife Center was created by Congress in 1976 and placed at the Library of Congress to "preserve and present American Folklife" through programs of research, documentation, archival preservation, reference service, live performance, exhibition, public programs, and training. The Center includes the American Folklife Center Archive of folk culture, which was established in 1928 and is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the United States and around the world. For further information, visit www.loc.gov/folklife/.

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PR 09-237
11/19/09
ISSN 0731-3527

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