Folklore Program at George Mason University

11/29/2023

Thank you so much to our visiting scholars Lili Zhu and Tao Pang for presenting at our Brown Bag Visiting Scholars Event! And thank you to everyone who attended! We look forward to hosting more events like this in the future.

11/21/2023

Dr. Gilman’s Public Folklore Class recently hosted National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship award winners the Legendary Ingramettes perform and discuss their experiences working with former director of the Virginia Folklife Program Jon Lohman. It was an incredible experience! And for those who didn’t get the chance to hear them perform, the Legendary Ingramettes will be performing at the Hylton Performing Arts Center on December 3rd at 2pm. Free tickets for Mason students are limited, so sign up now! https://hylton.calendar.gmu.edu/the-legendary-ingramettes

11/17/2023

Our Visiting Scholars Lili Zhu and Tao Pang are presenting their research on Tuesday, November 28th! Come check it out!

11/16/2023

Thank you to everyone who attended our visiting folklorists event! We especially want to thank Barry Bergey and Sojin Kim for sharing their insights and stories! (And of course thank you to our student organization Folklore Roundtable for organizing!)

11/13/2023

A few more pictures from the American Folklore Society Conference this year. In the first picture, program alum Shirley K. Shields (left) presents their paper on “Stranger Things” fanfiction as part of the ‘Reading Popular Culture Through Folklore’ panel with one of our program faculty members, Kim Stryker. (discussant-sitting right)
The second picture features Shields (right), live-streaming the AFS opening ceremony for Folkwise of which Shields is a team member on.

11/10/2023

We are amazed with our program’s visiting scholars Dr. Lili Zhu (photo 1) and Tao Pang (photo 2) as they present their conference: “From Tradition to Heritage: The Dynamic Practice of Handicrafts in China” presided over by their chair, Mason Folklore faculty member, Dr. Lijun Zhang (featured left) at the American Folklore Society conference.

11/06/2023

We've got more folklorists visiting us this month! And you should register on Mason360 to be a part of the action. https://cglink.me/2d7/r2249027

10/31/2023

Happy Halloween! As promised, here are some more photos from our Legends and Lore walking tour! Thank you to everyone who attended and we hope to see you again next year!

10/31/2023

We're famous now! Thank you to the George for spotlighting our event! It was a smashing success and we look forward to hosting it next year! (More photos to come soon.)

The annual Campus Legends and Lore Walking Tour takes the Mason community on a spooky stroll around Fairfax Campus with an educational twist.

10/27/2023

Graduate Students William Patterson (picture one) and Ang DiNardo (picture three) practice their presentations for the annual American Folklore Society conference. We wish them the best of luck (but know they won't need it)!

10/24/2023

There's still time to register for the Prospective Student Open House! Come join us to learn about both our undergraduate and graduate programs from the students themselves! As a reminder this event will be online, so attendance is only a click away. Ready to register? Use the link below!
https://tinyurl.com/eubx6xwh

10/20/2023

Last week Dr.Gilman’s folklore class had the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage (CFCH) and the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress. It was an incredible experience and a lot of fun too!
Picture 1
Students posing for a picture in the CFCH office lobby with curator James Deutsch (feat. right)
Picture 2
Interim Archives director, Greg Adam(right), James Deutsch (left) and other CFCH staff answering students’ questions.
Picture 3
In the American Folklife Center Reading Room, AFC staff member Doug Peach(right) talks with graduate student Ozzy Whitley (center) with another staff member Meg Nicholas (left).
Picture 4
Michelle Stefano (center) talks about the AFC’s materials with Mason students
Picture 5
A group photo with the American Folklife Center Staff in the AFC Reading Room

10/18/2023

Some of our graduate students attended the Richmond Folk Festival over the weekend. It was wonderful to experience so many incredible performances from performers from Virginia and beyond. Definitely will be there next year!

10/16/2023

The Folklore Program's Prospective Student Open House will take place on Thursday, October 26th from 7:30-8:30pm EST. This event will take place online. Please register using the Eventbrite link below:
https://tinyurl.com/ykwh66r5
(Apologizes if you interacted with this post before the edit)

10/07/2023

Here are some pictures from Wei Hai-Min's Beijing Opera demonstration on Wednesday. A special thank you to everyone who attended the event and Wei Hai-Min for performing for all of us. We also want to thank our translators for whom without the experience wouldn't be nearly as engaging.

09/27/2023

"Wei Hai-Min and Her Personae: Beijing Opera in Our Time" brought to you by Mason's Department of Modern and Classical Languages, the English Department, University Life, and the Folklore Program. Preeminent Beijing Opera performer Wei Hai-Min will perform from 4:30-6:00 pm on Oct. 4 in Merton 1201. There will be a reception afterward! Registration is on Mason360. https://tinyurl.com/46a2zrbx

09/26/2023

Check out our Fall 2023 events!

09/22/2023

We're almost done with September and we're still thinking about the amazing work that our graduate students have done over the summer!
Ang DiNardo interned for Lincoln's Cottage on their Cottage for Community project. They conducted interviews with residents of the Petworth Neighborhood of DC so that the Cottage can build programming that engages and reflects the community of Petworth. Since the internship's conclusion, Ang has been assisting the cottage with the analysis of the collected data before it is presented back to the community.

William Patterson volunteered over the summer with the Smithsonian for Folklife and Cultural Heritage for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Here he is featured taking a break from his work to participate in the Coalition to Save Thoroughfare circle. William is doing his master's project in collaboration with the Coalition.

09/22/2023

Photos of our Visiting Folklorists event from Tuesday. Thanks to Katy Clune (Director of Virginia Folklife) and Ryan Koons (Folklife Specialist at Maryland Traditions) for coming to Mason and sharing their work experiences!

09/15/2023

We are so excited to hear from our visiting folklorists! Katy Clune and Ryan Koons will be at Horizon Hall 1010 on Tuesday, September 19th from 7:30-9:00pm.
They will also be in Dr. Gilman's Public Folklore class in Horizon Hall 1011 from 6:00-7:00pm to talk about their work.
Registration link here: https://tinyurl.com/4veb4wjc

09/13/2023

Hello George Mason Folklore Community,
You are all invited to join us on Sept 19 from 7:30-9:00 pm in Horizon Hall 1010 for an informal gathering with Katy Clune, Director of the Virginia Folklife Program at Virginia Humanities, and Ryan Koons, Folklife Specialist at Maryland Traditions in the Maryland State Arts Council. This is a valuable opportunity to learn about the public folklore organizations and activities in Virginia and Maryland and to meet the leadership while enjoying FREE FOOD. This is also a wonderful opportunity to build your professional network!
If you are not able to make it or just cannot get enough of public folklore, our guests will be visiting Prof. Gilman’s Public Folklore class from 6- 7 pm in Horizon Hall 1011 for a more formal presentation about public folklore work in Virginia and Maryland. You are more than welcome to join us!
Please email Prof. Gilman if you have any questions at [email protected]
We hope to see you there!

Link to register for the event on Mason360: https://mason360.gmu.edu/Folklore/rsvp_boot?id=2155200

09/04/2023

Mason Students, have you joined Folklore Roundtable yet?

This academic student group meets to discuss and participate in all things folklore. Join today: https://tinyurl.com/2p5jekym

09/01/2023

Publore is a valuable tool and communication link for the public folklore community.

This listserv is free, sign up for it here: https://tinyurl.com/28nh7yf6

08/25/2023

WHEW! That's a wrap on the first week back 📖

How did yours go?!

08/22/2023

Welcome Back Students! What are you most looking forward to this semester?

08/21/2023

We hope you've had a rest-filled and enjoyable summer break! 🌞

Looking forward to seeing our folklore students this week as classes start back up again!

07/24/2023

Publore is a valuable tool and communication link for the public folklore community.

This listserv is free, register here: https://tinyurl.com/28nh7yf6

06/26/2023

Mason Folklore Professor, Lijun Zhang (far right), recently traveled throughout Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in Southwest China meeting with, and learning from, bamboo craftspeople alongside other folklorists: (from L to R) Huawen Li (PhD student, Minzu University), Wuerxiya (PhD student, Indiana University), and Jason Baird Jackson (faculty, Indiana University).

06/15/2023

Hey you! Mason Folklore student!

Are you a member of American Folklore Society yet? Your student membership gives you access to incredible resources. Join today:

AFS Member Application Instructions To join AFS as a new member, please fill out the following information. You can add sections dues on the next screen, and you can choose to either pay once or set up automatic monthly/annual billing by saving a payment profile. If you are a current or recent memb...