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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 29 items |
Abstract | Hillbilly Sources and Symbols: Country Music, Cultural Brokerage, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? was a conference held on 4-5 April 2003 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The conference, sponsored by the Southern Folklife Collection, the Center for the Study of the American South (CSAS), and Music in Context, was a response to the surge in popularity of traditional music inspired by the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and a celebration of the publication of Country Music Sources: A Biblio-Discography of Commercially Recorded Traditional Country Music by Guthrie T. Meade Jr. with Douglas S. Meade and Richard K. Spottswood (Southern Folklife Collection, 2002). The collection includes promotional materials (poster and program), two articles, and audiocassettes and videocassettes containing recordings of conference events. Among the topics covered at the conference were country, folk, and old-time music and the popular culture of the American South. The articles are "Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol" by folklorist and labor historian Archie Green (1965) and " Country Music Sources: A Personal Perspective" by Douglas S. Meade. The latter article concerns the life and career of Meade's father, Guthrie T. Meade Jr. (Gus Meade), focusing on his work on the discography that became Country Music Sources. Audiovisual materials document historian Benjamin Filene's keynote speech; panel discussions featuring folklorist Alan Jabbour, CSAS senior associate director William R. Ferris, discographer Richard K. Spottswood, and professor of American Studies Robert Cantwell; student presentations; Archie Green's closing remarks; and other activities. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: James McGlothlin, May 2007
Encoded by: James McGlothlin, May 2007
Updated by: Anne Wells, October 2016
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
In response to a surge in the popularity of traditional music inspired by the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and in celebration of the publication of Country Music Sources: A Biblio-Discography of Commercially Recorded Traditional Country Music by Guthrie T. Meade Jr. with Douglas S. Meade and Richard K. Spottswood (Southern Folklife Collection, 2002), Hillbilly Music Sources and Symbols: Country Music, Cultural Brokerage and O Brother, Where Art Thou? was held 4-5 April 2003 in the Wilson Library, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The conference was sponsored by the Southern Folklife Collection, the Center for the Study of the American South, and Music in Context, all associated with UNC. Author and historian Benjamin Filene gave the keynote address. Among the panelists were folklorist Alan Jabbour; William R. Ferris (Bill Ferris), senior associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South; discographer Richard K. Spottswood (Dick Spottswood); and professor of American Studies Robert Cantwell. There were also presentations of research papers by students and concluding remarks by folklorist and labor historian Archie Green.
See also online exhibit: Hillbilly Music: Source & Symbol.
Back to TopThe Hillbilly Music Sources and Symbols Collection documents the Hillbilly Music Sources and Symbols: Country Music, Cultural Brokerage and O Brother, Where Art Thou? conference, held 4-5 April 2003 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and sponsored by the Southern Folklife Collection, the Center for the Study of the American South, and Music in Context. The collection includes promotional materials (poster and program), two articles, and audiocassettes and videocassettes containing recordings of conference events. Among the topics covered at the conference were country music, folk music, and old-time music and the popular culture of the American South.
The articles are "Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol" by folklorist and labor historian Archie Green ( Journal of American Folklore, July-September 1965, volume 78, number 309; reprinted and bound for the University of Illinois Campus Folksong Club), and " Country Music Sources: A Personal Perspective" by Douglas S. Meade. This article concerns the life and career of Meade's father, Guthrie T. Meade Jr. (Gus Meade), focusing on his work on the discography that became Country Music Sources.
Ten audiocassettes, one VHS videocassette, and nine Mini DV videocassettes document Benjamin Filene's keynote speech; panel discussions featuring Alan Jabbour, William R. Ferris, Richard K. Spottswood, and Robert Cantwell; student presentations; Archie Green's closing remarks; and other activities.
Back to TopPromotional materials are a poster and a program, both containing information about schedule and participants. One article is "Hillbilly Music: Source and Symbol" by Archie Green; the other is " Country Music Sources: A Personal Perspective" by Douglas S. Meade.
Folder 1 |
Promotional items |
Folder 2 |
Articles |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7098 |
Student papers, 4 April 2003: tape 1 of 3Audiocassette Panel 1: Josh Guthman, "Ghost World: Death and Resurrection in the Music of Ralph Stanley"; Andrew Horowitz, "'I'm a Man!': McKinley Morganfield and the African American Great Migration"; Matt Meacham, "Virtuosity, Intertextuality, and the Bluegrass Mandolin Instrumental"; William R. Ferris, discussant. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7099 |
Student papers, 4 April 2003: tape 2 of 3Audiocassette Panel 1: Conclusion; Panel 2: Andrew Flory, "Being There: Wilco in Transition"; Aaron Smithers, "Old Time Punk: Relationships of Hillbilly and Punk Rock Music in Alternative Country"; Alicia C. Levin, "Identity Crisis in O Brother, Where Art Thou?"; David Sanjek, discussant. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7100 |
Student papers, 4 April 2003: tape 3 of 3Audiocassette Panel 2: David Sanjek, comments |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7101 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 1 of 7Audiocassette Side 1: Opening comments: Joe Hewitt, Dan Patterson, and Steve Weiss. Side 2: "Man of Constant Sorrow," Part I, Musical Notes: Jocelyn Neal (Moderator), Gail Gillespie, Alan Jabbour, and Philip Vandermeer. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7102 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 2 of 7Audiocassette Side 1: "Man of Constant Sorrow," Part I, Musical Notes: Jocelyn Neal (Moderator), Gail Gillespie, Alan Jabbour, and Philip Vandermeer. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7103 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 3 of 7Audiocassette Side 1 and Side 2: "Man of Constant Sorrow," Part II, Discographical Notes: Steve Weiss (Moderator), Richard K. Spottswood, Douglas S. Meade, and David Sanjek. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7104 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 4 of 7Audiocassette Side 1: "Man of Constant Sorrow," Part II, Discographical Notes: Steve Weiss (Moderator), Richard K. Spottswood, Douglas S. Meade, and David Sanjek. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7105 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 5 of 7Audiocassette Side 1 and Side 2: Keynote address by Benjamin Filene. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7106 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 6 of 7Audiocassette |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20378/7107 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 7 of 7Audiocassette Side 1: "Organizing the Tradition: A Roundtable on Cultural Brokerage and Cultural Brokers": Mike Kramer (moderator), William R. Ferris, Robert Cantwell, Sarah Weiss, Wayne Martin, and George Holt. Side 2: Closing comments by Archie Green. |
Videotape VT-20378/1 |
Student papers, 4 April 2003: tape 1 of 3MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/2 |
Student papers, 4 April 2003: tape 2 of 3MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/3 |
Student papers, 4 April 2003: tape 3 of 3MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/4 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 1 of 6MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/5 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 2 of 6MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/6 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 3 of 6MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/7 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 4 of 6MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/8 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 5 of 6MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/9 |
Conference, 5 April 2003: tape 6 of 6MiniDV |
Videotape VT-20378/10 |
Photomontages: "A Man of Constant Sorrow Sampler" and "Hillbilly Brokerage in Action," 5 April 2003VHS |