Since I Laid My Burden Down

In collaboration with Jazz-rock Foundations professor, Chuck Mancuso, I have had success in using the Anthology of American Folk Music in my Lib100 class. While students were learning about the roots of rock and roll in MUS206, they were each assigned a musician (some students were assigned folklore related topics or a specific genre of music) to research from the Anthology. This was a semester long process which covered all sources (starting with encyclopedias and working through a variety of specialized databases, including historical research) and aspects of the research process. Students were assigned to keep track of their research (what worked, what didn’t work, search strategies, what issues they were having, etc) in a “research journal” each week. Instead of writing a research paper, students created multimedia presentations incorporating PowerPoint, Video, and Music. If you’re interested in learning more about the Anthology, there are some great Websites including NPR and Smithsonian Folkways.
Also, check out modern day musicians, such as Beck, performing new versions of these true classics on this tribute album to Harry Smith (the curator of the original anthology).
In the end, students had an entirely new appreciation for the role of folk music in American history– and they became good researchers in the process! -LF