Evaluating Public Sector Folklore: The Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project

Abstract

This study examines recent developments in public sector folklore, a sub-field of the discipline of folklore. In the past dozen years, this sub-field has experienced a "boom" period, with many academically-trained folklorists taking positions as "state folk arts coordinators" or other government-sponsored jobs on local, state or national levels. In some aspects, public sector folklore parallels the public history, applied anthropology and contract archaeology movements. Using a project known as the Tennessee State Parks Folklife Project as a case study, the activities, methods and findings of public sector folklore are evaluated. The questions the author seeks to answer are: How effective is public sector folklore work? How does it differ from folklore in academic settings? What historic circumstances have shaped the sub-field in the past, and what does the future hold for public sector folklore? The study includes sections on the historic development of public sector folklore, an examination of field research and presentation, and an approach for evaluating public sector folklore projects. It concludes with an assessment and prognosis for the sub-field, pointing to positive effects of the work done this far, and voicing concerns for the future.