Oregon Folklife Network RFP: Due Nov 15, 2017
Folklore Fieldworkers for Willamette Valley
January – August 2018
The Oregon Folklife Network seeks to hire one early career (1-3 years’ experience in public folklore i.e., non-degree focusedfolklife fieldwork) AND one mid-career folklorist (at least 3-7 years’ experience in public folklore) to conduct folklife field surveys and documentation of cultural, occupational, regional, and religious traditions in the Willamette Valley counties of Polk and Benton and much of Marion, Linn, and Lane counties, including the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (fieldwork regions will be divvied up based on the experience and backgrounds of those selected). OFN Executive Director, Riki Saltzman, will supervise this project; Saltzman and the mid-career folklorist will mentor the early career folklorist as well as an emerging folklorist during fieldwork and for presentations. This project is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.
The Willamette Valley stretches along 100 miles of the Willamette River, from just south of Portland in the north to Eugene in the south; it covers all of Polk and Benton and much of Marion, Linn, and Lane counties, including the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. This region includes about 45% of Oregon’s population and is bordered by the Cascade Range (east), the Coast Range (west), and the Calapooya Mountains (south). Formed by the Ice Age Missoula Floods, this highly fertile region is known for its wineries (19,000 acres of vineyards and over 500 wineries), microbreweries, hop yards, orchards, farms, rivers, and fishing.
The Willamette Valley includes three major cities—Salem (capital), Eugene (University of Oregon), and Corvallis (Oregon State University)—plus small towns, rural areas, several rivers, and populations from a diverse range of ethnic and regional backgrounds, including a large settlement of Russian Old Believers. This project will cover regional, ethnic, and occupational folklore, including but not limited to Asian and Pacific Islanders (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Hawai’ian, Japanese, Korean, Lao, Vietnamese), Latino (Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican), Native American (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde), and European (Dutch, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Scotch-Irish, Scottish, Swedish) as well as logging, hunting, railroad, sheep and dairy farming, orchards, viticulture, brewing, hops growing, fishing and fishing guides, boat building and other waterways traditions along with foodways, music, storytelling, and other relevant traditional expressions.
Documentation will include a needs assessment for regional folk arts, recommendations for OFN’s roster, a list of potential partner organizations, and programming suggestions, thus providing direction for OFN’s network function. Folklorists will also provide public programs for each county and Grand Ronde; those presentations palpably demonstrate the value of traditional arts and result in further connections and feedback.
In addition to fieldwork, each contract folklorist will also be responsible for presenting two 1-hour public programs featuring 2 documented artists in counties where the research has occurred (OFN provides assistance).
The fieldwork portion of this work should take place any time from January – May 2018, though April – May would be preferable; public programs (see above) must occur no later than July 2018. Pre-fieldwork contacting of culture keepers and others may begin any time after December 15, 2018. All paperwork must be completed and turned in by August 31, 2017. Fieldwork days need not be consecutive, but fieldwork times must be coordinated with Saltzman.
The successful applicant should have at least an MA in folklore or related discipline, such as cultural anthropology or ethnomusicology. Early career applicants should have at least 1-3 years’ professional experience in public folklore and/or folklife documentation; mid-career should have at least 3-7 years’ professional experience in public folklore and/or folklife documentation. Please note that this does NOT include work conducted as part of a degree program.
Qualified applicants must have access to, experience with, and technical competence with digital equipment (camera, audio recorder, computer/laptop) and their own transportation. OFN will not cover transportation to/from Oregon.
Required RFP materials:
a cover letter detailing qualifications and relevant experience as well as how the applicant will conduct the work for this projectc.v.3 relevant reference letters (no exceptions)representative work samples (please submit only digital and/or online work samples) to include recorded audio interviews (1-2 excerpts of no more than 3 minutes each). Note: interviews should be in English and on topics relevant to folk and traditional artsa self-recording (audio) with applicant’s personal introduction along with a summary of qualifications (no more than 3-4 minutes)photography (10-20 images, jpg format, with metadata: subject, date, place, purpose of original photo). Note: we are looking for ethnographic/fieldwork type photographs with contextual information as part of the photo. Simple portraits and landscapes do not qualify, and we cannot accept video. fieldnotes (5 pp max)1 published professional writing sample (festival catalogue pieces are more than fine).
Applications submitted without these items will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered.
OFN will provide:
· preliminary contact information/introductions for several communities, folk artists, and organizations in Oregon’s Willamette Valley;
· digital folklife fieldwork forms (audio log, photo log, general release, artist data sheet, release for internet materials); funds for disks, memory cards, batteries, etc.; funds for travel (in Oregon only) at the state rate;
· pre-selected organizations in each county for public programs;
· Early career folklorist: contract and fee of $300/day plus in-state travel expenses (food, mileage, lodging at state rates) for total of $9,700; and
· Mid-career folklorist: contract and fee of $400/day plus in-state travel expenses (food, mileage, lodging at state rates) for total of $11,500.
The results of this folklife field survey will expand the OFN’s Culture Keepers roster; provide 6 public programs in counties where fieldwork was conducted (including one at the Oregon Historical Society); and provide cultural information, including field reports, to local cultural and arts organizations towards the creation of future programs as well as to OFN’s operational partners, the Oregon Arts Commission, the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Oregon Historical Society, Humanities Oregon, the Oregon Heritage Commission, and the Oregon State Library. As with all folklife materials, fieldwork documentation will become part of the Oregon Folklife Collection at the University of Oregon Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives.
Complete applications (including all reference letters) should be sent to:
Oregon Folklife Survey, Oregon Folklife Network, 242 Knight Library, 6204 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-6204OR as a PDF email attachment to riki@uoregon.edu (please put FOLKLIFE SURVEY in the subject line).
Complete applications must be received at the OFN by November 15, 2017.
This is NOT a postmark deadline.
For further information, please contact Riki Saltzman or Emily West Hartlerode at 541/346-3820 or riki@uoregon.edu or eafanado@uoregon.edu. Riki will be at AFS if you have questions.