Eliot Wigginton
Encyclopedia
Eliot Wigginton is an American oral historian
, folklorist, writer
and former educator. He was most widely known for developing the Foxfire Project
, a writing project that led to a magazine and the series of best-selliing Foxfire books, twelve volumes in all. These were based on articles by high school students from Rabun County, Georgia
. In 1986 he was named "Georgia Teacher of the Year" and in 1989 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
in 1942. His family called him Eliot. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English from Cornell University
and a second Master's from Johns Hopkins University
. In 1966, he began teaching English in the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
, located in the Appalachian Mountains
of northeastern Georgia.
practices and customs associated with farming and the rural life of southern Appalachia
, as well as the folklore
and oral history of local residents. The magazine began to reach a national audience and became quite popular.
The first anthology
of collected Foxfire
articles was published in book form in 1972, and achieved best-seller status. Over the years, the schools published eleven other volumes. (The project transferred to the local public school in 1977.)
In addition, special collections were published, including The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, Foxfire: 25 Years, A Foxfire Christmas, and The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Toys and Games. Several collections of recorded music from the local area were released.
Wigginton also had an interest in activists' working for social change in association with the Highlander Folk School. After a decade of collecting oral histories of people struggling for social justice
in the South, Wigginton edited and published, Refuse to Stand Silently By: An Oral History of Grass Roots Social Activism in America, 1921-1964 (Doubleday, 1991).
. The students and Fund developed a museum
in Mountain City, Georgia
, consisting of several cabins. They also began archiving their materials and have been aided by the University of Georgia.
In 1998 the University of Georgia
anthropology
department started to work with the Foxfire project to archive 30 years worth of materials. The collection is held at the museum and includes "2,000 hours of interviews on audio tape, 30,000 black and white pictures and hundreds of hours of videotape." By improving how the material is archived and establishing a database, the university believes the materials can be made more easily available for scholars. The Foxfire educational philosophy is based on the values of "a learner-centered, community-based expression."
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
, folklorist, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and former educator. He was most widely known for developing the Foxfire Project
Foxfire (magazine)
The Foxfire magazine began in 1966, written and published as a quarterly American magazine by students at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, a private secondary education school located in the U.S. state of Georgia...
, a writing project that led to a magazine and the series of best-selliing Foxfire books, twelve volumes in all. These were based on articles by high school students from Rabun County, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. In 1986 he was named "Georgia Teacher of the Year" and in 1989 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Background
Brooks Eliot Wigginton was born in West VirginiaWest Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
in 1942. His family called him Eliot. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and a second Master's from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. In 1966, he began teaching English in the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
Rabun Gap — Nacoochee School is a small, private college preparatory school located in Rabun County, Georgia in the Appalachian Mountains. It is both a boarding and a day school...
, located in the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
of northeastern Georgia.
Foxfire Work
Wigginton began a writing project based on his students' collecting oral histories from local residents and writing them up. They published the histories and articles in a small magazine format beginning in 1967. Topics included all manner of folklifeFolklife
Folklife is an extension of, and often an alternate term for the subject of, folklore. The term gained usage in the United States in the 1960s from its use by such folklore scholars as Don Yoder and Warren Roberts, who wished to recognize that the study of folklore goes beyond oral genres to...
practices and customs associated with farming and the rural life of southern Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
, as well as the folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and oral history of local residents. The magazine began to reach a national audience and became quite popular.
The first anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of collected Foxfire
Foxfire (magazine)
The Foxfire magazine began in 1966, written and published as a quarterly American magazine by students at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, a private secondary education school located in the U.S. state of Georgia...
articles was published in book form in 1972, and achieved best-seller status. Over the years, the schools published eleven other volumes. (The project transferred to the local public school in 1977.)
In addition, special collections were published, including The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, Foxfire: 25 Years, A Foxfire Christmas, and The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Toys and Games. Several collections of recorded music from the local area were released.
Wigginton also had an interest in activists' working for social change in association with the Highlander Folk School. After a decade of collecting oral histories of people struggling for social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
in the South, Wigginton edited and published, Refuse to Stand Silently By: An Oral History of Grass Roots Social Activism in America, 1921-1964 (Doubleday, 1991).
Guilty plea
In 1992, Wigginton pleaded guilty to one count of non-aggravated child molestation of a 10-year-old boy. He received a one-year jail sentence, and 19 years of probation. Required to leave the Foxfire project, he moved to Florida.Foxfire continues
Since then, the Foxfire project has continued under the auspices of the Foxfire Fund and its developed model of the "Foxfire approach" to experiential educationExperiential education
Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is mistakenly used interchangeably with experiential learning...
. The students and Fund developed a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
in Mountain City, Georgia
Mountain City, Georgia
Mountain City is an incorporated town in Rabun County, Georgia, United States. The population was 829 at the 2000 census. The town straddles the Eastern Continental Divide in a deep gap in the Blue Ridge Mountain front. The gap allows U.S...
, consisting of several cabins. They also began archiving their materials and have been aided by the University of Georgia.
In 1998 the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
department started to work with the Foxfire project to archive 30 years worth of materials. The collection is held at the museum and includes "2,000 hours of interviews on audio tape, 30,000 black and white pictures and hundreds of hours of videotape." By improving how the material is archived and establishing a database, the university believes the materials can be made more easily available for scholars. The Foxfire educational philosophy is based on the values of "a learner-centered, community-based expression."
In popular culture
- Hume CronynHume CronynHume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...
and Susan CooperSusan CooperSusan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
developed a play based on this work, also entitled FoxfireFoxfire (play)Foxfire is a play by Susan Cooper and Hume Cronyn based on the Foxfire books, about Appalachian culture and traditions in north Georgia. The 1982 Broadway production starred Jessica Tandy, who won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play...
(1982). It was produced on BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Jessica TandyJessica TandyJessie Alice "Jessica" Tandy was an English-American stage and film actress.She first appeared on the London stage in 1926 at the age of 16, playing, among others, Katherine opposite Laurence Olivier's Henry V, and Cordelia opposite John Gielgud's King Lear. She also worked in British films...
won a Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for her performanceTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a PlayThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
. - The play was adapted as a TV movie by the same name, which was produced in 1987. Tandy had the same role in the film and won an Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for her performance.
Legacy and honors
- 1986, Wigginton was named "Georgia Teacher of the Year"
- 1989, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship
- The Foxfire Fund, museum and local public school continue the work
- The Foxfire project was adopted by the public school, and by 1998 was used by 37 school systems nationwide in the US