WheatonArts :: Down Jersey Folklife Center :: About Down Jersey Folklife Center
Down Jersey Folklife Center
Teacher Orientation: A series of seminars, lectures
and workshops for teachers and artists. Folk artists,
teachers, and DJFC staff meet to develop strategies for
integrating folklife education into school curriculum.
Lectures, Presentations: We offer lectures and
presentations both at the Center and at other locations as
part of our educational programs. They present different
aspects of the traditional culture and are oriented towards
different audiences. We work with students of all ages and
educational levels, with teachers and other educators, with
all interested in folklore and folklife.
Examples of lectures include: Folklore as Knowledge and
Process: Introduction. Folk Music and Rhythms. (The focus
is on folklore event, performance and process rather than on
folklore genre or text.) Musical examples illustrate some
ethnic, regional and occupational versions of the folk
culture. Regular and irregular rhythms focus students’
attention on different musical aesthetics in order to make
them think about the “sound of the others”. Folklore as
Knowledge and Process: Introduction. Folk Rituals. (Folk
rituals are considered as structure/event consisting of a
sacred time, space, words, actions, music, dance and items;
as a process in which all of the ritual elements become part
of one meaning, and of an unique experience. Students learn
about some specifics of the ritual arts.)
Fieldwork training: We provide training in fieldwork
methodology and practice for our interns and community
scholars as well as for other people interested in
documenting their own family and community traditions.
Fieldwork training is part of our research programs and
projects as well as part of our internships
opportunities,
Folklife Residencies: Through a New Jersey State
Council on the Arts in Education program, folk artists are
scheduled to work with students. The Residency Program is
ongoing and residencies are flexible in length.



