This cutting-edge new book is the replacement forFolklife and Museums: Selected Readingswhich was published nearly thirty years ago in 1987.

The editors of that volume, Patricia Hall and Charlie Seemann, are now joined by C. Kurt Dewhurst as a third editor, for this book which includes updates to the still-relevant and classic essays and articles from the earlier text and features new pioneering pieces by some of todays most outstanding scholars and practitioners, to provide a more current overview of the field and addressing contemporary issues.

Folklife and Museums: Twenty-First Century Perspectivesis a brand new collection of cutting-edge essays that combine theoretical insights, practical applications, topical case studies (focusing on particular subject matter areas and specific cultural groups), accompanied by up-to-date resources and suggested readings sections.Each essay is preceded by an explanatory headnote contextualizing the essay and includes illustrative photographs.

C. Kurt Dewhurst, Ph.D., serves as the Director of Arts and Cultural Initiatives and Senior Fellow. University Outreach& Engagement; Curator of Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Michigan State University and Professor of English at Michigan State University. He is also Director Emeritus of the MSU Museum. His research interests include folk arts, material culture, ethnicity, occupational folk culture, cultural economic development, and cultural heritage policy.

Patricia Hall is an independent folklorist and museum consultant living and working in San Diego, CA. Previously, she served as Director of Education for the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), where she designed and led museum seminars; oversaw the Associations Consultant Service; published and produced written and audiovisual materials (So Youve Chosen to be a History Professional andNow That Youve Chosen History: Heres How to Get the Job); and presented papers and published numerous articles on the relationship of folklore and history.

Charlie Seemannis the Executive Director Emeritus of the Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from San Francisco State University and an M.A. in Folklife Studies from the University of California at Los Angeles. He was Deputy Director for Collections and Research at the Country Music Foundation/Country Music Hall of Fame for 12 years, and then Program Director at The Fund for Folk Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, before coming to the Western Folklife Center in 1998. He retired from that position in July 2014