Documenting Local Culture

This chapter provides a detailed description of a three-week summer residential field school conducted in Bloomington, Indiana, in 2000 and 2001. Following a model developed by David A. Taylor of the American Folklife Center, the school provided instruction and hands-on experience to students interested in learning methods of cultural fieldwork including interviewing, photography and participant-observation. Additionally, students learned methods of documentation including archiving and exhibition through radio, video, and other public displays. Each field school was organized around a salient local theme: the public square, in year 1 and community and disability, in year 2.This chapter summarizes the multiple practical challenges that students and instructors face in conducting a successful fieldwork school, with reference to transportation, supervision, field ethics, meals, residential accommodations, equipment, teamwork, and exiting the field

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