11-02-93 Folklore Series

STORYTELLING:  OHIO STATE OFFERS PROGRAMS ON FOLKLORE

     COLUMBUS -- Folklore pertaining to African Americans, Native
Americans, and the cultural politics of Appalachia will be
featured in a series of free seminars and workshops beginning
next month at The Ohio State University.

     The Center for Folklore Studies is hosting the programs,
which are aimed at bringing together teachers, folklorists, and
multiculturists to exchange ideas and methods of using folklore
in a multicultural curriculum.

     The series will begin Nov. 17 when John W. Roberts, director
of Afro-American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania,
explores the roles of the Black hero in American culture.
Roberts is the author of numerous articles about African-American
folklore.  His book, From Trickster to Badman:  The Black Folk
Hero in Slavery and Freedom, studies how traditional trickster
characters are manifested in contemporary American culture.

     On Feb. 9, 1994, Rayna Green of the Smithsonian Institution
will discuss how to put Native American folklore back into its
cultural context to gain a better understanding of Native
American societies.  Green, director of the American Indian
Program for the National Museum of American History, has written
extensively on Native American cultures and on education and
public policy issues that relate to Native Americans.  She is a
former president of the American Folklore Society.

     The third session, on May 11, will focus on the sizeable,
but rather invisible, group of Appalachian migrants in Central
Ohio.  David E. Whisnant, member of the executive board of the
American Folklore Society, will discuss how Appalachian culture
is depicted and unique problems and opportunities he has
encountered in teaching students from this region.  Whisnant is
the author of All That is Native and Fine:  The Politics of
Culture in an American Region, a study of the cultural politics
in Appalachia.  He is a past recipient of Rockefeller Foundation
Humanities and Woodrow Wilson Graduate fellowships.

     Each seminar begins at 4 p.m. in the Ohio Union, 1739 N.
High St., with a one-hour workshop following at 5 p.m.

     The final session is an intensive week-long program July 11-
15 on storytelling in the classroom.  Participants will take a
more in-depth look at the uses of folklore in the multicultural
classroom and create lesson plans, ideas, and strategies to
incorporate folklore across the curriculum.  A storytelling
performance is also scheduled.  Kay F. Stone, who teaches classes
in folklore, mythology, and story telling at the University of
Winnipeg, will highlight the program.  She has written several
articles on feminism and fairy tales, folktales as
transformational literature, and storytelling as a continuing art
form.

     Registration information for the summer session will be
available from the Center for Folklore Studies in April.

     The speaker seminars and workshops are open to the public
and geared toward school teachers and area university faculty and
students.  Central Ohio teachers can earn 1.2 continuing
education units for participating in all three seminars.  College
students may apply for graduate-level credit.  The program also
is open to faculty and students from area universities.

     Registration is not required to attend the seminars but is
requested for participation in the workshops.  Additional
information and registration forms are available from the Center
for Folklore Studies, 421 Denney Hall, 164 W. 17th Ave.,
Columbus, Ohio 43210; phone, 292-7532.
                                
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Contact:  Larry Doyle, graduate administrative assistant, (614)
292-7532.


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Tue, 02 Nov 93 07:51:53 EST]
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