CGA events
The Cooperstown Graduate Association (CGA), the alumni organization of the Cooperstown Graduate Program, organizes a variety of academic events throughout the school year.
conference
Every other fall CGA sponsors a scholarly symposium held in Cooperstown. A call for papers is made in the spring preceding the conference. Submissions are received frome nationally known historians and material culture scholars as well as students from graduate programs in a variety of disciplines. The conference also coincides with our yearly hands-on workshops (see below).
The 2006 conference, "Folk Art - New Interpretations," was held on October 27th and 28th. To see an overview of the conference, open the brochure.
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workshops
Every autumn, the Cooperstown Graduate Association puts on a series of hands-on workshops. Topics have ranged from hearth-oven bread baking and fantasy pumpkin carving, to Native American beading, Russian punch embroidery, and folk art painting.
The 2007 workshop series will be held on October 18th and 19th. For more information, open the brochure and registration form.
Buckley lecture
CGP’s legacy is steeped in the dedication to the study of folklore and folk life. Until 1979, CGP offered a degree in American Folk Culture, and folklorists throughout the country recognized the program for its quality and dedication to the field.
Although no longer an degree program, folk studies remains an important component of the CGP education and curriculum. A research and fieldwork course is required during the first year of study, and students learn how to conduct oral histories and record traditions and stories of the past.
CGP also holds an annual lecture on a topic in folk studies. Every year, the program invites an established scholar in the field to share his or her expertise, experiences, and advice through a free evening presentation for the entire community and a professional seminar for students. In the 2007 lecture, Susan G. Davis explored folklorist Gershon Legman, one of the foremost collectors of humor folklore. The 2006 Buckley Lecturer was Joe Hickerson, who introduced Cooperstown to his career in folk music.
For information on any of these events, please contact Catherine M. Raddatz, Coordinator of Alumni Affairs.