Third Humanities Biennial examines ‘Future of Folk’

Any handmade quilt is automatically “folk” art. Everybody knows that. Ditto for Swiss yodeling, the rocking chair from Appalachia or, in Wisconsin, bratwurst.

The call isn’t so easy, however, when the subject is that urban legend about the teen-age girl who gave birth to the octopus, Chicago labor music or the NASCAR culture of the American South.

Scholars, students and the general public will examine American folk culture in the 21st century during “The Future of Folk,” the third Humanities Biennial at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to be held Thursday, April 14-Saturday, April 23.

A working definition of “folk” encompasses artifacts, traditions and ways of living that emerge when people form a community. Needless to say, “community” these days may well be much wider and more fluid than it was in times past.

“If we wish to understand the experiences, attitudes and aspirations of so-called ordinary people, past and present, their folk culture has plenty to tell us,” says James P. Leary, professor of Scandinavian studies and folklore, and a co-director of the UW–Madison Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, which is co-sponsoring the biennial with the UW–Madison Center for the Humanities.

“For example, the Ole and Lena jokes originated in the late 19th century, but Norwegian Americans still use them today to comment on such contemporary issues as Medicare and presidential politics. Similarly, Woodland Indian drum groups sustain ancient warrior songs, but the musicians also compose new warrior songs about America’s involvement in foreign conflicts. Hmong immigrant women continue to create painstaking needlework in traditional abstract designs, but they also have learned to make a new genre of ‘story cloths’ chronicling their Asian and American experiences,” he says.

Leary says the biennial will explore the interface between “tradition” and contemporary life in Wisconsin, across the United States and around the world. Highlights include:

• “Yodel-Ay-Ee-Oooo! The Secret History of Yodeling Around the World,” by writer and music historian Bart Plentegna and yodeler Bruce Bollerud, Thursday, April 14, 7 p.m., First United Methodist Church, 201 Wisconsin Ave.
• “North American Labor Music,” performed by Bucky Halker and the Complete Unknowns of Chicago and Len Wallace, “The Squeezebox From Hell” of Windsor, Ont., Friday, April 15, 7:30 p.m., Orpheum Theater’s Stage Door, 216 State St.
• “Music From the Menominee Nation,” Myron Pyawasit and the Smokeytown Singers, Sunday, April 17, 2:30 p.m., Overture Center’s Rotunda Theater.
• “Urban Legends: Too Good to Be True?” by Jan Brunvand, professor emeritus of English and folklore, University of Utah, Monday, April 18, 7:30 p.m., Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium on Library Mall. A panel discussion will precede the lecture at 5:30 p.m. in the same location.
• “From Ragtime to Hip-Hop: The Future of the Ballad,” by independent scholar Cecil Brown, Friday, April 22, 5:30 p.m., Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium on Library Mall.
• “New Agricultural Communities and Folk Culture,” a presentation on Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m., Wisconsin Historical Society on the Capitol Square.

Leary himself will preview the biennial by lecturing on Alan Lomax, whose father, John, was one the first to study “seriously” folk culture, specifically, music. The talk, on Tuesday, April 5, will begin at 7 p.m. in the Overture Center.

Leary says that Wisconsin is an interesting case study for folklorists because diversity has flourished, albeit with conflict, here since territorial days.

“Many of Norwegian descent persist in eating lutefisk, just as Swiss may appreciate yodeling and Ho-Chunk maintain clan and warrior traditions,” he says. “At the same time, interactions of the various groups contribute to the emergence of a distinctive regional culture. Our characteristic Friday night fish fry, dice and card games, deer hunting and ice fishing combine Woodland Indian and European immigrant elements. Nowadays increasing numbers of African Americans, Spanish-speaking peoples, Hmong, Somali, Bosnians, Tibetans and others are making Wisconsin their home. I expect that they, too, will participate in and contribute to our state’s evolving folk culture.”

Most events are free and all are open to the public. For a complete schedule of biennial events, visit the Humanities Web site, call (608) 262-4970 or e-mail center@humanities.wisc.edu.