A Workshop on Interviewing for Learning and Engagement
Interviewing is a core methodology of folklore that in educational spaces teaches important details about cultural context, artistic expression as communication, and the ways stories can help us better understand our communities. This workshop is designed for folklorists to learn techniques for turning their knowledge of interviews into well-designed educational programs, and for teachers to gain experience with the tools of folklore in education.
Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor | Saturday, October 19 | Free*
Pratt/Calvert Room on the 3rd Floor | 8:30-Noon
Coffee & Tea will be provided by American Folklore Society Folklore and Education Section, a workshop co-sponsor
About the Presenters:
Diana N’Diaye is with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and directs the Will to Adorn project, which uses technology and interviewing as a core aspect of their youth education work. Camila Bryce LaPorte Morris directs the DC area Will to Adorn work. She notes that the tools of close observation, careful listening, and writing have been core to the success of the Will to Adorn and the effect that it has continued to have on the youth and artists who participated. Will to Adorn cultivates student voice through the processes of writing, photography, and technology of the interview, and then expressed it through products like exhibition, music, and dance. This section of the workshop will be a panel that includes artists, students, and folklorists. Artists who will present include: Fana Chisolm (Master hair designer), Anthony Gaskins (The Hat Man), and Sehar Perzaada (Urban Marsala).
Bonnie Sunstein is professor of English and education at the University of Iowa, where she teaches essay writing, ethnographic methods, writing theory, and folklore. She has been Director of the Nonfiction Writing Program, Program Chair in English Education, and Director of Undergraduate Writing in English. She co-authored the text “Fieldworking” that is used in university composition classes around the nation. She is also guest editor for the 2019 Journal of Folklore and Education on this topic. She will connect what we can do with an interview to composition and literacy activities.
Lisa Rathje and Paddy Bowman are staff with Local Learning, and they are facilitating and organizing the workshop. Local Learning began as the National Task Force for Folk Arts in Education during a 1993 national roundtable at the National Endowment for the Arts. Local Learning connects folklorists, artists, and educators across the nation and advocates for the full inclusion of folklife and folk arts in education to transform learning, build intercultural understanding, and create stronger communities.
*Workshop is Free. Attendance to other conference sessions or events requires registration fee.