Spring 2023 Florida Folklore Society Meeting

Florida Folklore Society Annual Meeting 2023

February 24, 2023

Online and UCF Downtown

9:30-10:00am: Participants and Presenters Sign In/Set Up

Session #1 (Virtual): Florida Folklife Program and Heritage Education 10:00-11:15am (On zoom)

Event Welcome and Opening Remarks

Participants:

  • Gregory Hansen, Professor of Folklore and English, Arkansas State University and former Florida Folklife Program Education Coordinator
  • Blaine Waide is the Associate Director of the National Council for the Traditional Arts (NCTA). Waide received a B.A. in English and Classical Studies from the University of Arkansas and a M.A. in Folklore from UNC-Chapel Hill. 

Moderator: Tina Bucuvalas, Director, Florida Cultural Resources, Tarpon Springs, FL

(45-minute presentation/discussion, 15 minutes Q&A)

Session Description: Join former Florida Folklife Program (FFP) staff members Gregory Hansen, Baline Waide in the first of our two FFP roundtable discussion sessions. Participants will speak to their experiences with studying and advocating for folklore in the Sunshine State, as well as share ideas for how folklorists can most effectively network with each other and folk artists going forward in order to strengthen the Florida Folklore Society and all the people it serves. This session will focus on the connections between Florida folklife and heritage education. 

11:15am-1:00pm: Lunch Break and UCF Downtown/Maker Space Tour (for those in person)

Session #2 (In Person): Maker Culture and Folklife Studies: A Presentation and Dialogue 1:00-2:00pm

            Participants:

  • Dominick Tartaglia, Florida State Folklorist
  • Jordan Lipscomb, Maker Space Manager and Visiting Instructor, UCF Games and Interactive Media program
  • Eddie Lohmeyer, Assistant Professor of Digital Media, UCF Games and Interactive Media program

           

Moderator: Natalie Underberg-Goode, President, Florida Folklore Society

            (45-minute presentation, 15 minutes Q&A)

Session Description: Join Florida State folklorist Dominick Tartaglia, UCF GaIM/NSCM Maker Space manager and visiting instructor Jordan Lipscomb, and Assistant Professor of Digital Media Eddie Lohmeyer for a lively presentation and discussion about the connections or affinities between contemporary maker culture and folk artists as makers in another, historical sense. What is maker culture, and how is it similar to or informed by folk artists as makers, who make things? What is maker culture, and what can folklorists contribute to the discussion of it? What would a folkloristic perspective on maker culture look like? What could contemporary makers working with tools like 3D printers and laser cutters learn from traditional folk artists like traditional chair caners and weavers? What could contemporary folk artists learn from makers in maker spaces?

2:00-2:15pm: Break

Virtual Session #3 (Virtual): Florida Folklife Program and Documenting Folklife 2:15-3:15pm (on Zoom)

            Participants:

  • Amanda Griffis, Cultural Anthropologist and Tribal Liaison, National Park Service and former Florida State Folklorist
  • Jon Kay, Clinical Associate Professor (2018-present): Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. Festival Director, Park Services Specialist (2002-2004): Florida Folk Festival, Florida Park Service, White Springs, Florida. Folklorist, Park Services Specialist (1998-2002): Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, Florida Park Service, White Springs, Florida. Folklife Education Coordinator (1997-1998): Florida Department of State (contract), White Springs, Florida. Folklore Fieldworker (1998): Historical Museum of South Florida (contract), Miami, Florida.

            Moderator: Peggy Bulger, Board of Directors, Florida Humanities Council

            (45-minute presentation/discussion, 15 minutes Q&A)

            Event Closing Remarks and Invitation to FFS Business Meeting

Session Description: Join former Florida Folklife Program staff members Amanda Griffis and Jon Kay  in the second of our two FFP roundtable discussion sessions. Participants will speak to their experiences with studying and advocating for folklore in the Sunshine State, as well as share ideas for how folklorists can most effectively network with each other and folk artists going forward in order to strengthen the Florida Folklore Society and all the people it serves. This session will focus on the approaches to documenting Florida folklife. 

3:15-3:30pm: Break

3:30-4:30pm: FFS Business Meeting (Virtual) (On Zoom)

4:30-6:00pm: Dinner and Social Time (for those in person)