John M. Vlach
Dr. Vlach is a leading expert on American material culture, especially African American and Caribbean decorative arts, folk architecture, and historic preservation.
Folklife; material culture; vernacular architecture; art and crafts. Regional foci: Southern U.S., Caribbean, West Africa.
AmSt 2530 (old 145): Folk Arts in America
AmSt 2532 (165)/Anth 2532 (192): Introduction to Folklore
AmSt 2533 (160)/Anth 2533 (130): Material Culture in America
AmSt 6561 (257)/Anth 6561 (297): Seminar: American Folklife
AmSt 6562 (256)/Anth 6562 (296): Folklore Theory
Books
2003 Vlach, J.M. Barns. New York: W.W. Norton. Norton/Library of Congress Visual Sourcebooks series. (Winner of the 2003 Kniffen Prize for Best Book on North American Material Culture).
2002 Vlach, J.M. The Planter's Prospect: Privilege and Slavery in Plantation Paintings. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
1993 Vlach, J.M. Back of the Big House: The Architecture of Plantation Slavery. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
1990 Vlach, J.M. The Afro-American Tradition in Decorative Arts, revised ed. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Selected Articles and Online Publications
2008 Vlach, J.M. "Rooted in Africa, raised in America: The traditional arts and crafts of African-Americans across five centuries." In Freedom's Story: Teaching African American Literature and History. National Humanities Center TeacherServe. Online at http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/freedom/1609-1865/essays/africa.htm
2004 Vlach, J.M. "The mysterious Mr. Jenkins of Jenkins Hill: The early history of the Capitol site," The Capitol Done (spring). Washington: U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Ph.D. 1975, Indiana University
B.A. 1970, University of California at Davis