Aimee Zoeller believes we can all learn a lot from iconic folk singer Woody Guthrie. And her work is helping do just that.
Zoeller, Director of IUPUC’s Sociology Degree Program and Coordinator of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, is also a Woody Guthrie scholar. In fact, she is a founding member of the Teaching Woody Guthrie Collective, started in 2020, to share ideas and resources among college professors and create interdisciplinary curriculum on Guthrie. Famous for “This Land is Your Land,” Woody Guthrie addressed the complexities of democracy, human rights and economic inequality, as well as America’s beauty, in relatable, understandable ways.
After meeting remotely for three years, all five members of the teaching collective got together in-person for the first time on May 6 for a panel discussion at the Woody Guthrie Center’s 10th anniversary event. Their presentation, “We all Work Together,” discussed curriculum jointly created to accompany the “People are the Song” exhibit for the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City, which was recently moved to the Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“One of the values of the collective is not to just look at what Woody made or said, but how it can be so useful for us today,” Zoeller said. “We can learn to understand so much about today’s world by looking to Woody’s work.”
Zoeller noted that the event felt like a big family reunion, as she and the collective were embraced by Guthrie family members and event participants, such as Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, 91, a folk singer and songwriter who traveled with Woody. “I’m really honored to be part of this small group and to have the chance to stand alongside people deeply invested in this work and this international platform,” Zoeller said.
The night before the event, Zoeller said it was surreal to attend a baseball game with fellow Guthrie scholars, alongside his descendants (one granddaughter even threw out the first pitch, while another sang the National Anthem). The group was joined by members of feminist punk band Pussy Riot.
Pussy Riot was in Tulsa to receive the prestigious Woody Guthrie prize and performed a concert to a packed Cain’s Ballroom, which concluded the 10th anniversary event. Zoeller said the performance was raw, powerful and especially poignant given the situation in Ukraine. The activist punk musicians are known for speaking out against Vladimir Putin; three members spent two years in prison for their protests. In earning the award, Pussy Riot joined previous winners such as Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and Chuck D of Public Enemy—all musicians at the intersection of art and social justice.
“Woody’s work doesn’t stop with him,” Zoeller emphasized. “As a writer, musician, artist, and educator, he spoke out again fascism and inequality, which has such relevancy today.”
For her part, Zoeller is keeping Woody’s legacy alive by introducing a new generation to his music and message in her IUPUC class “Protest Music in the U.S.” Plus, Zoeller is working with the Guthrie Center on educational outreach. She hopes to bring Woody’s teachings to students even beyond her current scope. “Song is a powerful tool, not just in social sciences and not just at the university level,” she added.
In addition, the Teaching Woody Guthrie Collective held another panel discussion on June 1. This time, they met at the symposium, Welcome to the World of Bob Dylan 2023, presented by the University of Tulsa. It’s located at the Bob Dylan Center, which opened one year ago across the street from the Woody Guthrie Center. Their presentation is aptly named, “Woody’s Expansive Reach.”
Watch a video of Zoeller discussing Woodie Guthrie.