My research spans linguistics and public folklore, which means much of my work is grounded in fieldwork. To date, I have conducted both linguistic and folkloristic fieldwork with individuals in communities across Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and British Columbia. A few public-facing media publications related to this work and other positions are highlighted below:
Traveling Traditions: Nordic Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest
As part of my position as a Digital Media Production Assistant, I wrote, curated, and edited the physical and virtual portions of an exhibit featuring the work of a few of the folk artists interviewed for the Sustaining Scandinavian Folk Arts in the Upper Midwest project. I learned a lot working on this project: the tools involved in acanthus carving, the difference between stranded and Shetland knitting, how kolrosing techniques have been adapted, and even some of those infuriatingly helpful shortcuts in Photoshop.
Immigrant Journeys from South of the Border: ¡Mi travesía hasta Wisconsin!
In spring of 2019, I received a HEX Public Humanities Exchange Grant from the UW Center for the Humanities to work with the Wisconsin Humanities Council on a project which strove to add another entry point into public conversations on the immigration of people from Mexico, Central and South America. I worked with the WHC to research and write content for both a traveling photographic exhibit and a website that shares the life stories of eight immigrants from south of the border who live and work in Wisconsin today. The website presents the stories and contextualizes them with information on immigration policy and Wisconsin history: https://wisconsinimmigrantjourneys.org/. This exhibit was created in partnership with Centro Hispano of Dane County and traveled throughout Dane County in the summer and fall of 2019, followed by a tour across the rest of the state. Read press coverage of the exhibit here: Isthmus, The Cap Times, Channel 3000.
Wisconsin Heritage Languages Research Project
As part of this team-based project at UW–Madison, I located and interviewed Finnish heritage bilingual speakers (mostly in northern Wisconsin). I was responsible for research design, organizing and conducting interviews, and analyzing data gathered. Along with others involved in Wisconsin heritage language research, we gave talks around the state in an effort to promote understanding and interest in both the state’s older and more recent immigrant languages.
Much of my academic research since the position centered on language change and societal shift in Oulu, WI. In partnership with the Oulu Cultural and Heritage Center, for my MA thesis I created a short film about Oulu and their Heritage Center.
Mirva Johnson 