The American Survey

Using the oral histories, written testimonies, photography, video and written work generated by the students during the course of each year’s seminar, the Program will create a living public archive that documents American society. Potential subjects include, but are not limited to, the built environment, the economy, culture, religion, jobs, science and technology, medicine, energy resources, immigrant cultures and languages, indigenous cultures, the arts and politics in America. The Survey emphasizes the historical context and historical value of the work produced at the Program. The Survey also serves as a means to explore collaborative projects that enable a direct line of communication between audiences and the people being documented, using such techniques as relying on the subjects’ own voices to narrate their own stories.