2017 summer training opportunities for educators in folk arts, folklife, and oral history are now available. Many are open to educators nationwide; others are for local participants. We include some NEH workshops below, and find more at www.neh.gov/divisions/education/summer-programs. Some institutes have application deadlines.
Local Learning: The National Network for Folk Arts in Education, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, advocates for inclusion of folk and traditional arts and culture in the nation’s education. If you have a summer institute that you would like considered for inclusion in this resource list, please contact us at ll@locallearningnetwork.org.
Arizona
June 1-4, Ethnographic Field School, directed by Maribel Alvarez, Tucson, sponsored by the Southwest Folklife Alliance. Participants will work with expert folklorists and documentarians to observe and learn from tradition bearers in the Old Pueblo. Working in small groups with mentors, participants will investigate foodways, low riders, and costumes. Contact swfolklife@gmail.com and see https://www.southwestfolklife.org/2017-ethnographic-fieldschool-tucson-az.
California
July 24-28, CWI’s Summer WEST Institute on Service Learning and Sustainability, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, directed by Joe Brooks. CWI’s Summer WEST takes place in vibrant and diverse urban settings. Participants receive intensive expert training, peer support, and collaboration. Educators from across the U.S. and around the world will engage in moving community-focused curriculum and programs to the next level. The collaborative design atmosphere creates transformative learning opportunities for students in their local communities. Contact jbrooks@cwinstitute.net and see http://communityworksinstitute.org/cwoutreach/cwprofdvlp/cwinstitute/index.html.
Colorado
June 25-July 15, Mesa Verde to Santa Fe: Pueblo Culture in the Southwest, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Cortez, directed by Sharon Milholland and Kathy Stemmler. This NEH institute examines the data and perspectives of archaeology, ethnohistory, and oral history and is committed to creating a multicultural community of inquiry led by notable American Indian scholars, Southwestern archaeologists, and educators. It will be based at Crow Canyon and feature fieldtrips to significant ancient and contemporary Pueblo villages. Scholars will spend several days each at Mesa Verde National Park and historic Pueblo and Spanish colonial communities in northern New Mexico. See www.crowcanyon.org/index.php/choose-an-archaeology/programs-for-educators. Apply by March 1.
Connecticut
June 24-July 14, From Harlem to Hip-hop: African-American History, Literature, and Song, Fairfield University, led by Laura Nash and Andrew Virdin. Through lectures, readings, seminar discussions, and trips to artistic, literary, and cultural sites in New York City, this NEH institute offers a study of the historical and cultural contexts that shaped and continue to affect societal and racial dynamics. Contact lnash@fairfield.edu and see http://faculty.fairfield.edu/NEHhiphop.
District of Columbia
June-August, Library of Congress Teacher Institutes engage educators in intensive study in several five-day institutes during the summer using the staff expertise, digitized collections, and facilities of the Library of Congress, including the American Folklife Center. Specialists instruct participants in best practices for using primary sources in the K-12 classroom to engage students, build critical-thinking skills, and construct knowledge. See www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/teacherinstitute.
June 29-July 4 and July 6-9, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, National Mall. Programs include the 50th anniversary of the NEA National Heritage Fellows and Circus Arts. Watch the Festival website www.festival.si.edu for details on education offerings. Contact Betty Belanus at belanusb@si.edu for more information as it develops.
June 26-July 21, Smithsonian Institution Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology (SIMA), National Museum of Natural History, directed by Candace Greene. The SIMA Institute for cultural anthropology graduate students introduces them to the scope of collections and their potential as data, provides training in methods to collect and analyze museum data, and positions students to apply their knowledge within their home university. Topics include critical analysis of documentation, development of observational skills, definition of appropriate data sets, and reconstruction of the “social life” of objects. Unique Smithsonian resources such as the annual Folklife Festival, National Anthropological Archives, Human Studies Film Archives, and other collections complement lessons in which students explore integrating museum-based data with other types of information, such as fieldwork and the critical analysis of visual data and the documentary record. See www.anthropology.si.edu/summerinstitute. Apply by March 1.
July 10-14 or July 24-28, Teaching the Humanities through Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum. Two week-long institutes will be held for core subject teachers for grades 6-12. Apply as individuals or part of a team. Graduate credits, scholarships, and low-cost housing accommodations are available. See http://americanart.si.edu/education/dev/institutes. Apply by April 2.
Florida
July 9-15 or July 16-22, Jump at the Sun: Zora Neale Hurston and Her Eatonville Roots, Eatonville, directed by Jacqueline May. Participants will examine Hurston’s accomplishments within the context of the historical and cultural development of Eatonville in this NEH workshop. Explorations will link to important contemporary issues and discussions about the intersections of class, race, historic preservation, heritage tourism, civic activism, and local politics. Contact jmay@flahum.org and see https://floridahumanities.org/educators/workshops/zora-neale-hurston. Apply by March 1.
Georgia
July 9-14 or July 16-21, Gullah Voices: Traditions and Transformations, Savannah, directed by Robert Stephens and Mary Ellen Junda. The University of Connecticut, in collaboration with the Penn Center, Georgia Historical Society, and other Low Country sites, present two one-week NEH Landmarks workshops for K-12 teachers, librarians, administrators, substitute teachers, and classroom professionals. Faculty includes music educators, historians, and Gullah scholars and musicians. See http://gullahvoices.org. Apply by March 1.
June-July, Foxfire for Teachers, Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center, Rabun. Several five-day institutes are offered. Contact Hilton Smith, hsmith@piedmont.edu and see www.foxfire.org/teaching.html.
Indiana
July 9-28, Muslim American Identities, Past and Present, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, directed by Edward Curtis. This NEH seminar aims to nurture an environment of intellectual engagement and active learning in which scholars interpret Muslim American identities from a variety of perspectives. Scholars will reflect on and discuss primary source documents, visit mosques, and create and present individual teaching projects. The seminar is designed to be of interest to teachers of history, literature, social studies, cultural and religious diversity, and other allied fields. See https://muslimamericanseminar.wordpress.com. Apply by March 1.
Kentucky
Dates TBA, Appalachian Media Institute, Appalshop, Whitesburg. This annual opportunity for young people to learn documentation media culminates in community screenings. Other workshops are available for educators. See https://ami.appalshop.org. .
Louisiana
June 26-30 (local) or July 10-14 (national), New Orleans: Music, Culture, and Civil Rights, Tulane University, New Orleans, led by Rebecca Snedeker, Sonya Robinson, and Brice Miller and featuring numerous musicians. This NEH Landmarks workshop explores culture through the evolution of New Orleans music. The landmark under study will be the City of New Orleans, allowing for indepth investigation of her influences and inequities and authentic engagement with the living, evolving musical forms that have emerged from her complicated history. Contact gulfsouth@tulane.edu and see https://neworleans-neh-landmark-workshop.com. Apply by March 1.
July 31-Aug. 1 (tentative), Local Learning @ Vermilionville Institute, Vermilionville Living History Museum and Folklife Center, Lafayette, led by Melanie Harrington and Paddy Bowman. The fifth annual institute theme is Allons Danser, let’s go dancing, featuring traditional artists and exploring the integration of foklife, interviewing, and dance across curricular areas. Open to all Louisiana educators. Contact education@bayouvermiliondistrict.org and see www.vermilionville.org/vermilionville
Minnesota
June 25-30, Transforming Education through Absent Narratives, Minnesota Humanities Center, St. Paul. This third annual institute prepares educators to build meaningful connections with their students through practical strategies to increase engagement in the classroom. Participants will come away with broadened worldviews, strengthened relationshipsnd shared vision among colleagues, and a network of educators committed to relationship-based educational change. The week includes extensive opportunities to learn from and with other educators and community scholars, immersive field experiences that connect participants with absent narratives of Minnesota and the communities that call this place home, rigorous discussion that challenges and empowers participants to assess their own assumptions about how relationships affect student engagement and achievement, a practical introduction to absent narratives strategies, resources, and classroom materials available through the Humanities Center. Contact eden@mnhum.org and see http://minnesotahumanities.org/institute. Apply by March 31.
July 3-7, Smithsonian Folkways Certificate Course in World Music Pedagogy, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, led by Karen Howard. Participants will be guided through recordings and curricular materials from Smithsonian Folkways that fit the needs of students in knowing music and knowing culture through music. Musical experiences will be tailored for various levels, including in classes for children, youth, and adults in university and community settings, with occasional small group sessions to decipher and discuss applications for particular teaching contexts and aims. Participants will share means of teaching world music and receive documentation from the Smithsonian Institution that certifies their specialized study in World Music Pedagogy. Contact karen.howard@stthomas.edu and see www.folkways.si.edu/folkways-courses-university-of-st-thomas-2017/smithsonian.
Mississippi
June 19-24 or July 9–15, The Most Southern Place on Earth: Music, Culture, and History in the Mississippi Delta, Delta State University, Cleveland, directed by Luther Brown. This NEH Landmarks workshop takes participants through the heart of the Mississippi Delta to explore sense of place as they study the place itself as a text, learning history where it happened, and reading “the invisible landscape” of stories from the past, events that transpired in particular places and how they changed America.. See http://deltacenterdsu.com/mostsouthern. Apply by March 1
Montana
July 10-28, Re-Enchanting Nature: Humanities Perspectives, Carroll College, Helena, led by Chris Fuller and Ed Glowienka This NEH seminar examines our relationship to nature amid the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park. The seminar draws on religious, cultural, literary, fine arts, and cinematic perspectives to explore the role of the humanities in public discourse about the environment. Participants will examine whether the humanities can provide distinctive opportunities to deepen our relationship with nature in ways that complement scientific study. See www.carroll.edu/neh-summer-seminar. Apply by March 1.
New York
Dates TBA, Oral History Summer School, Hudson. Oral History Summer School was established in 2012 to train writers, social workers, radio producers, artists, teachers, human rights workers, and others to make use of oral history in their documentary and artistic practices. The interviews in the archive serve as opportunities to train students and give back to the community. Interviews are conducted in accordance with the Oral History Association’s best practices and standards. See www.oralhistorysummerschool.com.
North Carolina
May-August, Duke Center for Documentary Studies, Durham. Photography, audio, and video documentary institutes and workshops occur throughout the summer. Continuing education classes are open to all. Learn through hands-on immersion in audio and video recording, digital mixing, ethics, and production from accomplished documentarians. See http://documentarystudies.duke.edu.
June 15- 20 or June 22- 27, Crafting Freedom: African American Entrepreneurs in the Antebellum South, UNC-Chapel Hill, directed by Laurel Sneed. This NEA workshop includes tours, lectures, presentations, and visits to historic sites in the North Carolina Piedmont. The workshop features entrepreneurs like Thomas Day, an important furniture maker in the antebellum South, and Elizabeth Keckly, dress designer for Mary Todd Lincoln. See http://thomasday.net/crafting-freedom-neh-landmarks-workshop-2017. Apply by March 1.
Dates TBA, Cherokee History and Culture Institute, Museum of the Cherokee Indian, Cherokee, taught by Barbara R. Duncan and members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This annual institute for educators covers Cherokee archaeology, history, anthropology, folklore, literature, and geography. It models experiential education for the classroom and includes fieldtrips. Participants learn to think critically about different disciplines while taking into account a Cherokee-centered viewpoint. This work is applicable to other American Indian tribes as well. Contact bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org and see www.cherokeemuseum.org.
Oregon
August 7-11, Oregon Folklife Network Folklife Field School, Warm Springs. Tribal youth and their teachers from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (CTWS) are invited to participate in this intensive field school. Follow-up with project presentations at the University of Oregon in Eugene August 29-30. See http://ofn.uoregon.edu.
Texas
June 25-July 1, Stories from Deep in the Heart Summer Institute, Texas Folklife Gallery, Austin, led by Brian Griffith and Rachel Hopkin. In this annual one-week radio documentary workshop participants learn about folklore, interviewing methods, recording techniques, and audio editing. Working in groups with professional media producers and folklorists, participants will produce short documentaries on community traditions. They will tour KUT 90.5, Austin’s NPR affiliate, where they will record narration for their documentaries. Documentaries will be uploaded to Texas Folklife’s Soundcloud page and Public Radio Exchange, where they may be selected for broadcast by public radio stations. On the last day, participants will premiere their stories for the public in a listening party. Scholarships are available for educators, as well as community members with financial need. Contact stories@texasfolklife.org and see www.texasfolklife.org.
Vermont
June 19-23, CWI’s Summer EAST Institute on Place-Based Service Learning and Sustainability, Burlington, directed by Joe Brooks. CWI’s Summer EAST Institute is a service-learning focused professional development event set in northern Vermont. Collaborate with colleagues from across North America and beyond, working to embrace place-based service learning and sustainability within our teaching practice. Transform learning by connecting students through creative problem solving to an understanding of the most pressing issues in their own communities. Contact jbrooks@cwinstitute.net and see http://communityworksinstitute.org/cwoutreach/cwprofdvlp/cwinstitute/index.html.
June 26-29, Discovering Community Summer Institute, Vermont Folklife Center, Middlebury, led by Mary Rizos, Myles Jewell, Kathleen Haughey, and Greg Sharrow. This institute introduces educators to the methods of ethnographic field research and the techniques of documentary media making and digital storytelling to facilitate meaningful student involvement with the communities where they live. Working with community resources and digital media tools presents rich opportunities for personalized, student-led learning experiences with the capacity to engage both high-performing and at-risk students. This student-directed research model facilitates the development of transferable skills such as clear and effective communication, responsible and involved citizenship, creative and practical problem solving, and informed and integrative thinking. Contact info@vermontfolklifecenter.org, link to informational video at https://vimeo.com/200839777, and see www.learningcollaborative.org/Discovering_Community.
August 14-17, Discovering Community Summer Institute 2, Brattleboro, led by Mary Rizos, Myles Jewell, Kathleen Haughey, and Greg Sharrow. For the first time, the Vermont Folklife Center will bring its popular “Discovering Community” summer institute to southern Vermont, in cooperation with the Vermont Learning Collaborative. Join us in Brattleboro for practical, hands-on learning designed for adults working with a range of students. The institute introduces educators to the methods of ethnographic field research and the techniques of documentary media making and digital storytelling to encourage student involvement with the communities where they live. Working with community resources and digital media tools presents rich opportunities for personalized, student-led learning experiences with the capacity to engage both high-performing and at-risk students. This student-directed research model facilitates the development of transferable skills. Contact info@vermontfolklifecenter.org, link to informational video at https://vimeo.com/200839777, and see www.learningcollaborative.org/Discovering_Community.
Washington
June 26-30, Smithsonian Folkways Certification Course in World Music Pedagogy, University of Washington, Seattle, led by Patricia Shehan Campbell and Christopher Roberts. Audio, video, print, electronic, and human resources are sampled in this intensive course, with the aim of learning and developing an understanding of ways to teach music of the world’s cultures. Attention is given to learning culture through songs, movement, dance experiences, instrumental music, and contextualized cultural components. Participants are guided through recordings and curricular materials from Smithsonian Folkways that fit the needs of students in knowing music and knowing culture through music. Musical experiences are tailored for various levels, including in classes for children, youth, and adults in university and community settings, with occasional small group sessions to decipher and discuss applications for particular teaching contexts and aims. Participants share means of teaching world music and receive a Smithsonian Folkways Certificate in World Music Pedagogy. Contact cr777@uw.edu and see www.folkways.si.edu/upcoming-workshops-university-washington-2017/smithsonian.
July 10-14, Smithsonian Folkways Certification Course in World Music Pedagogy, Eastern Washington University, Cheney, led by Cynthia Nasman. This intensive workshop in world music pedagogy is an active exploration of music from many cultures. Attention will be given to learning culture through songs, movement, dance experiences, instrumental music, and placing music in its cultural context. Audio, video, print, electronic, and human resources will be sampled, with the aim of learning and developing an understanding of ways to teach music of the world’s cultures. We will examine pedagogical issues in learning and teaching music from a cultural perspective. Participants will be guided through recordings and curricular materials from the Smithsonian Folkways archives that fit the needs of students in knowing music through culture and culture through music. Musical experiences will be tailored for various levels, including in classes for children, youth, and adults in university and community settings. A final project will be completed to receive a Smithsonian Folkways Certificate in World Music Pedagogy. A final performance will be held at Spokane Public Radio. Contact cnasman@ewu.edu and see www.folkways.si.edu/upcoming-workshops-eastern-washington-university-2016/smithsonian.
West Virginia
June 26–30, Smithsonian Folkways Certification Course in World Music Pedagogy, (WVU Teacher Institute), West Virginia University, Morgantown, led by Janet Robbins. Participants will engage with world music in daily workshops featuring several musical cultures, including Central Appalachia, Australian choral, Brazil, Trinidad, and West Africa led by WVU faculty and guest artists. Teachers will develop a foundation in world music pedagogy and have access to the rich ethnographic audio, film, and print resources of Smithsonian Folkways. This intensive course will help teachers design innovative curricula that connect K-12 music programs with local and global musical cultures. Teachers will receive a certificate of completion from the Smithsonian Institution in world music pedagogy. Contact janet.robbins@mail.wvu.edu and see www.folkways.si.edu/folkways-courses-west-virginia-university-2017/smithsonian.
July-August, Augusta Heritage Center, Davis and Elkins College, Elkins. An array of week-long courses and workshops in music, dance. crafts, and folklore may be taken for continuing education and undergraduate credit, from Cajun to Irish. Contact augusta@augustaheritagecenter.org, 304/637-1209, www.augustaheritagecenter.org
Wisconsin
June 19-21, Native Milwaukee, A Here at Home Cultural Tour for K-12 Educators, sponsored by Wisconsin Teachers of Local Culture. This year’s program, Native Milwaukee, focuses on Native American communities in urban Milwaukee during a three-day educational tour and professional development opportunity for Wisconsin teachers. Teachers will learn about the complexities of living as a Native American in an urban setting and discuss how to apply insights learned on the tour to their own classrooms curricula. See csumc.wisc.edu/wtlc.
Wyoming
July 30-Aug. 12, Field School for Cultural Documentation: Triangle X Ranch, Grand Teton National Park, led by Andrea Graham, Randy Williams, Lisa Gabbert, Guha Shankar, Margaret Kruesi. This collaboration between the University of Wyoming, Utah State University, and the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress is an intensive, multi-week, residential workshop to provide participants with basic ethnographic fieldwork skills, including participant observation, interviewing, field notes, ethics, and archiving. Participants will work collaboratively with nationally known faculty. Participants will document traditions of owners, guests, and workers of the historic Triangle-X dude ranch (http://trianglex.com) near Jackson Hole in Grand Teton National Park. Folklorist Andrea Graham of the University of Wyoming who has spent much of her career working with ranching communities, will lead the project. Participants should commit to at least three weeks. Two weeks will be spent in residence, and another week or so at home will be spent processing materials and writing final reports. Contact lisa.gabbert@usu.edu and see https://archives.usu.edu/folklo/fieldschool2017.php.