MISSION AND CORE VALUES

BACKGROUND

Over the summer of 1966, a special Reorganization Committee reviewed the objectives, administration, and constitution of the North Carolina Folklore Society. It has drafted a core values statement, a revised constitution, job descriptions for officers, and operational guidelines and timetables for certain Society activities. The revised constitution was adopted at our annual meeting on March 22, 1997.

Society President Mary Anne McDonald has headed this reorganization effort, and a number of officers and Society members worked to complete a democratic and productive review of the Society's mission and operations. Among these contributors were Karen Baldwin, Donald Dossey, Jill Hemming, Glenn Hinson, Connie Mason, Lucy Powell, and Terry Zug. This review also included advice from Nello McDaniel, a consultant provided through the New Realities program of the North Carolina Arts Council.

One product of this review is a statement of philosophical center and core values for the Society. Jill Hemming and Glenn Hinson provided important revisions to this document, and the Reorganization Committee accepted the present version at its August 1, 1996 meeting at the Museum of History in Raleigh.

 
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLORE SOCIETY PHILOSOPHICAL CENTER

We are dedicated to the preservation, appreciation and celebration of North Carolina folklife, and to more fully understanding the traditional aspects of culture. We affirm the importance of the study, public presentation, and preservation work of academic and public sector folklorists.

 
CORE VALUES

Members of the North Carolina Folklore Society share many core values that draw us together as a Society and that guide and inspire our activities. The Society exists to serve folklorists, folk artists and their communities, and others interested in traditional culture. We remain committed to these concerns:

1. We believe in fostering understanding about folklife topics and issues and in educating members and other interested persons, institutions, and communities. The Society serves both as a forum for ideas and as an information clearinghouse for folk artists, folklorists, students, and others. As part of our commitment, we work to build bridges with other disciplines and to serve both the academic and public sectors.
2. We wish to create and support the appreciation of folklife as a living, vital process that exists in communities and is central to our culture. We believe that artistry rests at the very heart of culture, and that it stands as one of the fundamental means through which communities create and express meaning. Traditional arts capture the emotional essences that fuel the very workings of culture.
3. We believe that folk artistry arises from the union of community aesthetics and individual vision. In that it necessarily embodies community tastes--and not solely those of the artist--it offers key insights into community values and meanings.
4. We value the inclusiveness of a democratically run organization and depend on wide participation and support from our membership. Society functions are open to the public and should make all feel welcome. By providing a place for the open exchange of ideas, these gatherings should should foster interaction and friendly debate.
5. We are committed to nurturing new generations of folklorists and to fostering partnerships with folk artists and their communities. We are also committed to inclusiveness and diversity in our membership, seeking to reflect the diversity of people in our state.
6. We realize that folklore is an inherently political discipline, in that it addresses issues of cultural equity. We believe that a commitment to cultural equity is inherent to the study of folklore. We also believe that a fuller understanding of folklife can counter prejudice and oppressive practices--at the very least by provoking thought and underlining the common humanity of peoples from different cultures. In so doing, it can counter mainstream tendencies to stereotype and devalue people outside of the cultural mainstream.