African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Howard Odum

I mentioned the folklorist Howard Odum yesterday in the post, brecause he actually appears in the graphic novel about Stagger Lee! 

So, today's post is going to be about Howard Odum and his books that you can find at the Internet Archive, starting with Religious Folk-songs of the Southern Negroes, published in 1909, based on field work he began back in 1905 in Mississippi; this was Odum's Ph.D. dissertation.

Then, in 1925, Odum published The Negro and His Songs: A Study of Typical Negro Songs in the South, coauthored with Guy Johnson, who completed his Ph.D. under Odum's direction.

A year later in 1926, Odum published Negro Workaday Songs, also coauthored with Guy Johnson.

Then, to put these books in the context of Odum's life and work, here is an academic biography: Howard W. Odum's Folklore Odyssey: Transformation to Tolerance Through African American Folk Studies by Lynn Moss Sanders. One of her central arguments is that this collaboration with Johnson brought about a change in Odum's attitude towards African Americans and their cultural achievements.

You can read about the career of Howard Odum and also of Guy Johnson at Wikipedia. I'll be back tomorrow with more foundational works in the study of African American folk songs.

Religious Folk-songs of the Southern Negroes

by Howard Odum

The Negro and His Songs:

A Study of Typical Negro Songs in the South

by Howard Odum and Guy Johnson

Negro Workaday Songs

by Howard Odum and Guy Johnson