Alabama
July 9-21, Alabama Community Scholars Institute, University
of North Alabama, Florence, led by Joyce Cauthen and Joey Brackner.
The Alabama Community Scholars Institute is a training program for people
who want to research, document, and present various aspects of Alabama’s
traditional culture—the music, food, crafts, stories, celebrations,
and traditions of their own communities. It is valuable to people involved
with local museums, arts councils, festivals, and cultural tourism and
to college students and K-12 teachers interested in folklore and oral
history. Participants learn all aspects of fieldwork: recognizing traditions,
conducting field surveys, interviewing and recording, photographing
and videotaping tradition bearers, and logging and transcribing interviews.
Contact Joyce Cauthen,
joycecauthen@bellsouth.net, 205/822-0505, www.alabamafolklife.org/community_scholars.html.
Arizona
July 10-13, Introduction
to Oral History: Teaching Students to Record Community Storytellers,
Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott, sponsored by the Arizona Heritage Project
and Northern Arizona University. AHP involves teachers and students
of six high schools who explore folklife in their community. This course
will help educators promote and use oral history and community documentation
techniques in teaching and research and introduce the community storyteller
programs in their schools. Contact Ed Berger, ed@sharlot.org,
928/445-3122 x31, www.azheritageproject.org.
California
July 6-8, 11th Annual LEGACY Oral History Program, San Francisco
Performing Arts Library and Museum, led by Jeff Friedman and Basya Petnick.
This workshop provides the training necessary for participants to launch
their own oral history projects. While drawing on references and examples
in the performing arts, the workshop will be equally appropriate for
those involved in anthropology, institutional history, social history,
family history, personal history, master’s or doctoral studies,
or other projects. Contact Legacy@sfpalm.org,
415/255-4800, x*823, www.sfpalm.org/programs/legacy.htm.
District
of Columbia
June 30-July 4 and July 7-11, 40th Annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival,
National Mall, produced by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural
Heritage. Education opportunities will focus on the Native Basketry
program, Carriers of Culture. Other programs are Nuestra Musica: Latino
Chicago and Alberta, the first Canadian province represented at the
festival. Contact Marjorie Hunt, marjorie@folklife.si.edu.
See www.folklife.si.edu/festival/2006/index.html
for the full festival schedule and look for great teaching tools on
the new Smithsonian/Folkways source for downloadable music from around
the world, Global Sound, www.smithsonianglobalsound.org.
Florida
June 5-9, Florida Folklife:
Ethnographic Approaches to Folk Culture, Florida Center for Teachers,
St. Petersburg, directed by Kristin Congdon and Tina Bucuvalas. In this
NEH-funded We the People seminar, learn how a folklorist does ethnographic
fieldwork. Practice skills by visiting Iranians in Clearwater, Southeast
Asians and Latin Americans in St. Petersburg, Greeks in Tarpon Springs,
and African Americans in Bealsville and Tampa. Learn about folk music
and dance, foodways, occupational folklore, folk beliefs, storytelling,
and religion. Understand culture from an insider perspective by eating
ethnic foods, visiting temples, churches, produce stands, and market
places. Listen to folk music and enjoy the multiple rhythms of Florida's
diverse cultures. Contact Ann Schoenacher, achoenacher@flahum.org,
727/873-2010, www.flahum.org/sections/fct/summer_seminars_desc.html.
Kentucky
Dates TBA, Appalachian Media Institute, Appalshop, Whitesburg.
This annual opportunity for young people to learn documentation media
culminates in community screenings. Other workshops available for educators.
Contact ami@appalshop.org, 606/633-0108,
www.appalshop.org/ami/.
Louisiana
Dates TBA, Louisiana Voices Project of the Louisiana Division
of the Arts hosts training throughout the year. Special summer workshops
are in the works. Contact Eileen Engel, edengel@att.net, or Maida Owens,
mowens@crt.state.la.us,
225/342-8180,
www.louisianavoices.org.
Mississippi
June 21-23, 2nd Annual Education Summit on Teaching Civil Rights
History, McComb. Sponsored by the William Winter Institute for
Racial Reconciliation, this event brings together civil rights leaders,
educators, and historians to promote civil rights education in schools.
Contact Susan Glisson, glisson@olemiss.edu,
662/915-6734, www.olemiss.edu/winterinstitute.
July 17-21, Mississippi Whole Schools Institute, University
of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, directed by Judi Holifield. This
annual gathering sponsored by the Mississippi Arts Commission will include
an emphasis on helping students affected by the hurricanes of 2005.
Contact Judi Holifield, jholifield@arts.state.ms.us,
601/359-6040, www.mswholeschools.org.
Montana
June 19-24, Place-Based Teaching: Exploring Where We Are Through
Literature and Writing, 12th Annual Montana Heritage Project Summer
Institute, Montana Tech, Butte, directed by Michael Umphrey. MHP holds
a weeklong experience for Project teachers but this year have crafted
the first two days as a conference for any teacher from across the country
interested in learning about place-based education and writing. These
conference dates are June 19-20. The gathering will teach how to engage
high school students in authentic studies of culture and nature. Presenters
include Rachel Tompkins of the Rural Trust, Greg Smith of Lewis &
Clark College, Guha Shankar of the American Folklife Center, poet Mark
Gibson, writers, and musicians. The conference will also feature workshops
by MHP teachers on such topics as getting kids to “write like
Studs Terkel” or how local research gives students voice. Contact
Marcella Sherfy msherfy@mt.gov,
406/444-1759, www.montanaheritageproject.org/index.php/institute.
Nebraska
June 6-9, Connecting to Community Through the Arts, Nebraska
Arts Council Prairie Visions Arts Education Leadership Academy, Joslyn
Arts Museum, Omaha, directed by Marty Skomal. Teams will work with experienced
arts educators and create arts-integrated community-based lesson plans.
Contact Shari Hofschire, Shari_Hofschire@unomaha.edu.
New
York
July 24-28, New York City and the Nation, sponsored by the
New York City Department of Education, Gotham Center for New York City
History, City Lore, and other organizations, with funding from the U.S.
Department of Education. A team of educators, historians, folklorists,
and artists lead the project teachers on an intensive learning exploration
to teach U.S. history in grades 4-8, see www.gothamed.org.
North
Carolina
June 12-23, 2nd class TBA, Cherokee Language Immersion Seminar,
Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, directed by Bo Taylor and Cherokee
elders. This course, offered twice this summer, teaches conversational
Cherokee language and will immerse participants in Cherokee language
through classroom activities, interaction with elders, and field trips.
Open to those 16 and older. Contact Bo Taylor, botaylor@cherokeemuseum.org,
828/497-3481,
www.cherokeemuseum.org and www.cherokeeheritagetrails.org.
June 19-23, Literacy Through Photography Institute, Center
for Documentary Studies at Duke University, Durham, led by Wendy Ewald
with Denise Friesen and Katie Hyde. Literacy Through Photography (LTP)
workshops are open to educators, artists, and community workers from
Durham and beyond. For over 30 years Ewald has worked with children
around the world and in various communities within the U.S. In 1989
she developed LTP in conjunction with the Duke Center for Documentary
Studies and Durham Public Schools. Participants learn the methods that
LTP uses to teach creative writing and photography in the classroom
based on LTP's four core themes: self-portrait, family, community, and
dreams. Contact kahyde@duke.edu,
cds.aas.duke.edu.
Audio and Video Documentary Institutes occur throughout the
summer at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies, Durham. Classes are
open to all. Learn through hands-on immersion in audio and video recording,
digital mixing, ethics, and production from faculty who are accomplished
documentarians. Contact Dawn Dreyer, dkdreyer@duke.edu,
919/660-3680, cds.aas.duke.edu.
Session 1 June 22-27 and Session 2 July 13-18, Crafting Freedom:
Thomas Day and Elizabeth Keckly, Black Artisans and Entrepreneurs in
the Making of America, North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh,
directed by Laurel Sneed. The NC Museum of History in partnership with
the Thomas Day Education Project is offering two expenses-paid workshops
funded by NEH for 100 K-12 educators nationwide. This intensive hands-on
opportunity to study African American history and culture through primary
sources and historical sites relates to two 19th century artisans. Thomas
Day was a celebrated free Black cabinetmaker who had the largest furniture
shop in North Carolina in 1850. Elizabeth Keckly was a dressmaker, confidante
of Mary Todd Lincoln, and author of an important slave narrative and
best seller, Behind the Scenes: or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years
in the White House. Contact Emily Paynter or Laurel Sneed, tdek06@aol.com,
919/405-2326 or 877/438-1599, www.thomasday.net.
July 10-15, 8th Annual Cherokee History and Culture Institute,
Museum of the Cherokee Indian and Western Carolina University, Cherokee,
directed by Barbara Duncan and Cherokee artists and presenters. This
institute combines classroom learning with experiences in the Cherokee
community to provide accurate information about the Cherokee (and other
American Indians), resources, and connections with Cherokee people.
Readings are from a variety of disciplines: archaeology, anthropology,
history, folklore, and cultural geography. Includes interviews, field
trips, and experiences on the Qualla Boundary. Contact Barbara Duncan,
bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org,
828/497-3481, www.cherokeemuseum.org/html/education_courses.html.
Ohio
June 6-8, Ohio Oral History Institute, Kenyon College, Gambier,
directed by Frank Dunkle. The Ohio Humanities Council offers this annual
opportunity to learn all stages of oral history through hands-on activities.
This year the focus is foodways. Sessions include videotaping interviews
and fundraising. Contact Frank Dunkle, frankd@ohiohumanities.org,
800/293-9774, www.ohiohumanities.org.
July 10-14, Food and Identity in the Midwest/Foodways Traditions
Across the Curriculum, Bowling Green State University, directed
by Lucy Long. The Ohio Humanities Council sponsors this course that
asks "What do food and how you eat have to do with who you are?".
Using the American Midwest as an example, participants will investigate
how food traditions express national, regional, cultural, social, and
personal identity; conduct field research; explore ways of using food
in the classroom; and develop curriculum materials. Contact Lucy Long,
lucyl@bgnet.bgsu.edu, 419/372-7862.
Oregon
July
17-21, Let Us Now Praise Portland, Lewis & Clark College,
Portland, directed by Joanne Mulcahy. The annual Writing Culture Summer
Institute focuses on local stories this year, following James Agee and
Walker Evans’ injunction to “praise famous men” and
shed light on those who “have no memorial” but whose wisdom
deserves to be told. Participants will write from their experiences
of the city; read from Let Us Now Praise Famous Men as well as fiction,
poetry, and nonfiction about the region; and conduct interviews with
local “famous” women and men. Contact Joanne Mulcahy for
information, mulcahy@lclark.edu;
for registration, contact Diane McDevitt, mcdevitt@lclark.edu,
503/768-6167.
Pennsylvania
July
5-August 10, Writing and Culture, Place Graduate School of
Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, taught by Miriam
Camitta. This course looks at writing as several variable, multiple,
diverse, and changing practices contingent upon specific cultural and
social contexts. We want to understand what writing means to the individual,
to his or her community, and to larger social entities. The approach
and readings draw on the theory and methods of anthropology, folklore,
sociolinguistics, and the new literacy studies. Contact Miriam Camitta,
mpcamitta@aol.com.
July 10, 12, 14, 18, and 20 in Homestead and July 19, 21, 24, 26, and
28 in Aliquippa, Schools: The Place Cultures Collide, sponsored
by Allegheny County and Beaver County Intermediate Units, taught by
Linda Deafenbaugh. These Act 48 credit courses focus on multicultural
America and how schools respond to diversity issues, the background
of educating minorities in the U.S., and prejudice and discrimination.
In examining how culture works in the classroom, the parallel processes
of folk, popular, and elite culture provide a lens. Studying folk culture
examines understanding the worldviews toward schooling of various minority
groups. Popular culture takes up the forces of globalization and mass
media and pop culture influences on schools. Elite culture looks at
the hidden curriculum and governmental influence on schools. This course
will be useful to any teachers interested in understanding the cultural
dynamics of their schools and the diverse students they instruct. Contact
Linda Deafenbaugh, lindadeafenbaugh@yahoo.com.
South
Carolina
July 16-29, Penn Center
Gullah Studies Institute, St. Helena Island, sponsored by the Penn
Center, South Carolina State University, University of North Carolina
Folklore Program, and Bread Loaf. This summer program for K-12 educators
and other interested individuals combines the study of Gullah history,
music, language, art, and culture with hands-on workshops with local
artists. Since its founding in 1862 as the first academic center for
newly freed African Americans, Penn Center has played a major role in
sustaining culture and supporting education and community self-reliance
throughout the Low Country. Contact info@penncenter.com,
843/838-2432, www.penncenter.com.
July TBA, South Carolina
Community Scholars Institute, Palm Key, sponsored by the South
Carolina Commission on the Arts and led by Leslie Williams. The Community
Scholars Institute celebrates its 10th anniversary during a week-long
gathering that will focus on folk arts and education and bring together
folk artists, teachers, and community scholars. Contact Craig Stinson,
CStinson@arts.state.sc.us,
803/734-8697.
Tennessee
May 31-June 2, Folk Arts,
Oral History, and Narrative Stage Workshop, Jubilee Community Arts,
Knoxville, led by Gregory Hansen. This workshop series for teachers
of grades 4-12 focuses on folklore, folk arts, oral history, and narrative
stage. Day 1 is a required introduction, which teachers must complete
before enrolling in the oral history or narrative stage workshops. The
second day will focus on basic necessities for conducting folklife and
oral history interviews. Training will encourage the exploration of
teachers’ and students’ communities and the development
of listening skills, note taking, researching, and oral and written
language arts skills. On the final day participants will learn to interview
traditional artists who may visit their classroom. Workshops are free
to East Tennessee educators. Contact info@jubileearts.org,
865/522-5851, www.discoveret.org/jca.
Utah
June 5-9, Folklore and Popular Culture, 2006 Fife Folklore
Conference, Utah State University, Logan, directed by Jan Roush and
Jeanne Thomas. Educators and folklore graduate and undergraduate students
will work with visiting scholars of diverse areas of expertise, folklore.usu.edu.
Contact the Registrar, 435/797-1094, www.usu.edu/registrar.
Dates TBA, Field School with the American Folklife Center at
the Library of Congress and Brigham Young University, Provo, directed
by David Taylor. AFC’s 11th annual field school provides hands-on
training in the documentation of local culture, preservation of documentary
materials, and public presentation of cultural heritage. The field school
is for adults who have a strong interest in cultural documentation but
little or no previous training or experience in this area. Preference
will be given to those, like teachers, who are in a position to use
newly learned skills upon returning to their communities. Contact Kristi
Bell, kristi_bell@byu.edu,
801/422-6041, www.loc.gov/folklife/fieldschool/index.html.
Vermont
July 10-14, Discovering Community: Students, Digital Media, and
Place-Based Learning, Vermont Technical College, Randolph Center,
led by Gregory Sharrow and Paddy Bowman. This institute offers educators
the opportunity to explore the power of field research as a means to
facilitate student engagement with their home communities. Over the
course of an intensive, week-long program, participants will work with
cultural researchers, documentary media specialists, artists, and fellow
educators in a learning environment that models an ethnographic approach
to community inquiry. The institute brings together place as the context,
sustainability as the goal, and service learning as the strategy. Contact
Gregory Sharrow, gsharrow@vermontfolklifecenter.org,
802/388-4964, www.discoveringcommunity.org.
Virginia
June 19-23, Community and Celebration, the 2nd Annual Fayette
Area Historical Initiative Summer Institute, directed by Christina Draper,
Paddy Bowman, and Jeanne Siler, Martinsville, sponsored by the Virginia
Foundation for the Humanities. Participants will explore African American
history and culture of the region through the lenses of oral history
and folklife and focusing on celebrations. Contact Christina Draper,
csd4n@cms.mail.virginia.edu,
434/924-3296.
June 26-July 28, Roots: African Dimensions of the Early History
and Cultures of the Americas, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities,
Charlottesville, an NEH-funded institute led by Joe Miller. Contact
jcm7a@virginia.edu, 434/924-6395,
www.virginiafoundation.org/institutes/roots.
June 28-30, Let’s Go! Community Expeditions and Explorations,
Arlington, led by Paddy Bowman and Mary Eckstein. The National Network
for Folk Arts in Education, Arlington Humanities Project, and Arlington
Cultural Affairs Division team up for an intensive, hands-on institute
and ongoing pilot project to collaborate with local teachers and traditional
artists and integrate folklife and fieldwork into existing curricula.
Contact Mary Eckstein, MEckstei@arlington.k12.va.us,
703/228-6299.
Washington
May 26-29, Northwest Folklife Festival, Seattle, includes dance
and music workshops useful to educators and hands-on activities for
young people. Residencies and workshops also occur throughout the school
year. Contact education@nwfolklife.org,
206/684-7281, www.nwfolklife.org.
West
Virginia
Augusta Heritage Center, Davis & Elkins College, Elkins.
Dozens of opportunities to learn fieldwork, music, dance, and crafts
include a Folk Arts Week when participants may bring their families
to enjoy classes and activities. Folklife and ethnomusicology workshops
will be included as well. Contact augusta@augustaheritage.com,
304/637-1350 or 800/724-3157 x1209, www.augustaheritage.com.
Wisconsin
June 23-20, Here at Home: A Wisconsin Cultural Tour for K-12 Teachers,
organized by the Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture Network, Wisconsin
Arts Board, and Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, led
by Ruth Olson, Anne Pryor, and Debbie Kmetz. This learning tour seeks
to promote understanding of Wisconsin 's disparate cultures while helping
participants gain a deeper awareness of the environmental and human
forces that shape local culture. Topics include cultural geography,
folklore and folklife, meteorology, geology, music, arts, history, rural
sociology, urban planning, and environmental studies. Four faculty members
will accompany the tour with additional guest appearances by scholars
from University of Wisconsin campuses. Teachers can use the information
generated through this experience to meet state curriculum standards
for such topics as community, Wisconsin history, immigration, music
as cultural communication, visual culture, design arts, content-based
writing, environmental stewardship, and earth science. The tour, which
may be taken for credit, will also address two specific needs identified
by teachers: experiential training in ways to study local culture, and
simple methods by which to incorporate local culture studies into existing
curricula. Contact Debbie Kmetz, dkmetz@wisc.edu,
608/262-8180, csumc.wisc.edu/WTLC/Home.htm.
July 24-28, Uff Da! Wisconsin Folklife for the Classroom, Washburn
Academy, Onalaska, directed by Anne Pryor of the Wisconsin Arts Board
and Ruth Olson of the Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Culture,
www.csumc.wisc.edu. You don't need to drive across the state to find
wonderful resources! Learn about cultural study techniques and community-based
fieldwork, develop ways to help students "see" local culture
instead of just passing through it and document what they have found.
Sessions include Wisconsin folk artists, learning to interview, connecting
to standards, developing integrated projects. Teachers will create local
culture presentations to publish on the Wisconsin Teachers of Local
Culture web site http://csumc.wisc.edu/WTLC. Contact Anne Pryor, anne.pryor@arts.state.wi.usm,
608/266-8106, arts.state.wi.us
and www.wisconsinfolks.org.