The ideology and rhetoric of cultural conservation have become the official discourse of the Smithsonian's Office of Folklife Programs and go far to justify that office's annual Festival of American Folklife, principally in terms of its impact upon participants. But Festival planning itself works like a system of combinatory signs to summon upfolkloristic visions ofculture very little connected to the complex social, political, and personal interactions that for participant and visitor alike are the reality of the Festival on the Mall.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Robert Cantwell (1991) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: