EXPLORING
THE TRADITIONS
Grant
Number 98-058G
Grantee.
Project
Director, Dr. Laurie Sommers, South Georgia Folklife Project,
The project included networking and limited fieldwork
by Project Director Sommers
in targeted communities, and a public workshop which highlighted
traditional arts in south Georgia. The workshops approached the exploration of
community “heritage and traditions” from the vantage point of folklore and
folklife. The Project Director focused on “traditional culture” or culture
which is learned informally, transmitted orally, and shaped by the distinctive
religious, ethnic, occupational, and geographic characteristics of south Georgia.
Many people mistakenly equate “folklore” with history (rather than as living
traditions) or with falsehoods (“Oh, that’s just folklore!”). It is often taken for granted as “just the
way we do things.” These workshops brought the scholarly approach to folk
culture into focus, and encouraged informed documentation and programming, thus
enhancing a broader appreciation and awareness of south
Georgia’s heritage and culture. Oral
interviewing techniques were introduced through a 30-minute video presentation,
“An Oral Historian’s Work,” produced by the
The intent of this
project was to network with the key gatekeepers in the arts and cultural
activities of various south Georgia communities. In this the project succeeded. Because the workshop title was changed to
“Exploring Community Heritage” (at suggestion of Syd Blackmarr) in the attempt
to reach a broader audience, it attracted a disproportionately large number of
senior citizens and those who equated “heritage” with “history.” However, the workshop itself broadened the
notion of heritage to include folklife and emphasized living traditions over historic ones. The project successfully
reached its target audience of arts and humanities programmers, historical
societies, community center personnel, cultural tourism promoters, educators,
tradition bearers, and the general public. The workshops drew a small minority
audience that reflected the nature of mailing lists
and constituencies of the arts and cultural organizations in these
communities. To reach such audiences,
future workshops would need to be located in venues perceived to be more
accessible and approachable by minority audiences and special efforts must be
made to target these audiences through personal visits and specific audience
building initiatives.
Location of Project Workshops:
Early County, Jakin
8. Audience
Participation
A. Total Number in
attendance all sessions=260
B. Audience Profile
Male 35%
Female 65%
Under 12 0%
12-18 0%
18-25 1%
25-35 3%
36-55 40%
over 55 56%
Elementary 10%
High School 30%
College 45%
Graduate 10%
Technical 5%
Black 1%
Asian 1%
Hispanic 1%
Caucasian 97%
C. Represented groups: arts councils, historical Societies, historic
preservation specialists, civic leaders, museum staff, traditional artists, educators
Audience
Evaluation of Project
The following
questionnaire was distributed at the close of each workshop. Summary responses
are included:
Audience Evaluation Grant # 98-058G Exploring
Community Heritage
Evaluations of GHC projects are critical in
providing quality humanities programs. Your thoughtful comments are important
contributions to the creation and improvement of public humanities programs in our
state. Thank you for your help!
Your Name:
Address:
Date and Location of Workshop:
SAMPLE = 90 surveys returned
1. I
rate this program (circle
one) excellent (67) good (20)
fair (3) poor (0)
Comments:
She stirred me, making me want to think and
talk about my memories of 90 years.
Very informative
It gave us a good way to begin and made
people aware of traditions we have.
Didn’t realize the
scientific nature of folklore preservation and research.
Comprehensive and thought-provoking
To be introduced to the correct procedure
of oral interview was valuable
2. Did the workshop cover topics as
advertised? excellent
(70) good (19)
fair poor
Comments
Broad coverage of varied folk activities
3. I
would rate the effectiveness of the hand-outs as: very useful (70) useful (18) not useful
Comments
Great documents to begin oral history
Excellent examples of material to support
discussion topics
4.
What were the strengths and weaknesses of the program? How could it have been improved?
Would like to see actual interview in
progress, for example
More time for questions, audience
involvement
More hands-on
Good visuals
Good knowledge and appreciation of subject
I especially enjoyed meeting people in the
area whom I can call on and are interested
The slide presentation gave terrific insight
into the different areas of heritage
More emphasis on latest technology for
documentation
5. Would you like to see any follow-up programs
from the South Georgia Folklife Project?
What would be useful/helpful?
Your partnering with a local group
More school projects
Tying oral history to historic preservation building
research
More information on minorities
Sharing work done by workshop participants
Sources for technical help:
sound recording, archiving
6.
Suggestions of traditions or individuals important to community heritage
in your area
Other Participant
Feedback:
Allow me to thank
you, sincerely,
for the quality presentation you gave at our Historical Society dinner program last Friday here in
John E. Brown, Ph.D. Historical
Society of
Thanks for putting
on the workshop last night. There was a
good interest by the people present with some good ideas of things they wanted
preserved. I’m encouraged to see people
that care about the past….I also appreciate the stature that Sacred Harp gained
last night among people that can make a difference. Your endorsement sparked
some interest among people that would normally not have given it a second
glance.
David I. Lee,
Wonderful evening. Thank you so much. The plans to document the last year of
turpentining would be benefit enough from such an evening—but I know there will
be more projects to come from you. I’m looking forward to all of them…
Christine Tibbits,
May 1999,
Thank you so much for allowing the
Jane Simpson,
I was inspired by the many options and
suggestions adaptable to local projects.
Gwen Adams,
The program was excellent and fueled my
desire to document cultural traditions, both at the
Catherine Larkins,
9. Participating
Humanities Scholars
Dr. Laurie Kay
Sommers,
Ms. Teresa Hollingsworth
Fl. Div. of Historical Resources, Florida Folklife Program, evaluator
Ms. Gretchen
Geisinger,
Mr. Henry Rutland,
community scholar,
**Please note: Two additional humanities scholars were
listed in the project proposal: Dr.
Maggie Holtzberg (GA state folklorist) and Ms. Syd Blackmarr. Dr. Holtzberg left the state to assume
another position and a replacement as not named until July, so she was not
available to assist in the programs as originally planned. After the grant was awarded, Ms. Blackmarr
stepped down as director of the Arts Experiment Station and began her own
consulting business. She was unavailable
for the workshop dates in this new capacity.
Ms. Gretchen Geisinger, (MA English, VSU) presented
the results of an independent study project in conjunction with the South
Georgia Folklife Project on culture and
community in her hometown of Jakin, Georgia, during a July workshop. Because of the “local connection,” this workshop
attracted one of the best audiences, despite its location in a very small
town. Geisinger used the techniques of
folklife and oral history to explore continuity and change in Jakin from its
founding to the present.
Finally, Mr. Henry Rutland, heir to one of south
Georgia’s great fiddling traditions, shared his substantial knowledge on the
history and technique of south Georgia fiddling in
10. Attach Report of Evaluation Committee (see
report by Ms. Teresa Hollingsworth)
11. Media Involvement
A. Were media involved in promotion? Yes.
Press releases and
PSAs were sent to local newspapers and radio/TV stations. Media sources were identified by the host
organizations at each site. Sample
newspapers include the following:
The
The
The Early
The
Donalsonville News
Tifton Gazette
Douglas Enterprise
Fitzgerald Herald Leader
Ocilla Star