Archie Green : the making of a working-class hero / Sean Burns ; foreword by David Roediger ; with a final interview conducted by Nick Spitzer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Burns, Sean.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Green, Archie.

Folklorists--United States--Biography.

Folklorists.

Labor unions.

Working class.

United States.

Working class--United States--Folklore.

Labor unions--United States--Folklore.

Folklore--United States.

Folklore.

United States--Social life and customs.

Manners and customs.

Genre:

Biographies.

Folklore.

Physical Description:

ix, 190 pages : illustrations ; 18 cm

Place of Publication:

Urbana : University of Illinois Press, 2011.

Summary:

" Archie Green: The Making of a Working-Class Hero celebrates one of the most revered folklorists and labor historians of the twentieth century. Devoted to understanding the diverse cultural customs of working people, Archie Green (1917-2009) tirelessly documented these traditions and educated the public about the place of workers' culture and music in American life. Doggedly lobbying Congress for support of the American Folklife Preservation Act of 1976, Green helped establish the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, a significant collection of images, recordings, and written accounts that preserve the myriad cultural productions of Americans. Capturing the many dimensions of Green's remarkably influential life and work, Sean Burns draws on extensive interviews with Green and his many collaborators to examine the intersections of radicalism, folklore, labor history, and worker culture with Green's work. Burns closely analyzes Green's political genealogy and activist trajectory while illustrating how he worked to open up an independent political space on the American Left that was defined by an unwavering commitment to cultural pluralism"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part 1 Of Shreds and Patches: Early Political Formation 1

1 Family, Revolution, and Emigration 3

2 Boyle Heights in the 1920s 8

3 Student Politics and Labor in the Thirties 16

Part 2 Triangle of Commitments: San Francisco Maritime Politics of the Thirties 27

4 From Berkeley Stacks to Stake-Side Trucks 29

5 "Brother Slugging Brother": Sailors, Longshoremen, and Legacies of the '34 Strike 39

6 Harry Bridges and Reconsiderations of Communist Party History 49

7 Union Service and Organizing World War II Veterans 56

Part 3 A Decent Philosophy: Culture, Politics, and American Folk Revivalism 69

8 Folk Music and the American Communist Party 75

9 Moments in the Making of a Laborlorist 87

10 Vernacular Music and Cultural Pluralism 93

Part 4 "Always on Stolen Time": Folklore, Labor History, and Cultural Studies 103

11 Alternative Popular Front Imaginary 107

12 New Labor History and American Cultural Studies 118

13 Laborlore: A Pedagogy of the Working Class 128.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780252078286

0252078284

OCLC:

719427898