Diversifying Folklore Practice and Education: Sharing and Creating Inclusive Folklore Pedagogy

A Workshop

Saturday, November 9th, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM MST in Navajo.

Facilitated by: Dr. Ebony Bailey and Dr. Anna M. Nogar.

Presenters: Camille Acosta, Dr. Minuette Floyd, Dr. David Todd Lawrence, Dr, Carmella Scorcia Pacheco, Laura Yohualtlahuiz Rios-Ramirez, Dominique Rodríguez, and Dr. Elena Valdez.

At this year’s meeting, Dr. Ebony Bailey and Dr. Anna M. Nogar will facilitate a workshop with folklorists, cultural workers, and practitioners on substantively engaging with knowledge by folklorists, practitioners, and communities of color in the classroom. This workshop aims to share and contemplate how folklorists, educators, and cultural workers in the field are incorporating knowledge from folklorists of color and/or communities of color in the classroom, beyond one or two readings and in culturally sensitive ways (i.e. deeply and ethically engaging with research and praxis from folklorists and/or communities of color). Inspired by the work of Notable Folklorists of Color: Expanding the Frames (curated by Drs. Phyllis M. May-Machunda, Olivia Cadaval, & Sojin Kim), our workshop asks: what does antiracist, inclusive pedagogy look like in practice? What is the role of folklore in the classroom and in interdisciplinary settings? In teaching, how are we foregrounding individuals and communities of color as knowledge and theory makers, not as the “subjects” to be studied?

To help frame our conversation, the first half of the workshop will center knowledge sharing, highlighting guest speakers who will share tangible examples of inclusive pedagogy and/or classroom content from their teaching experience. For our speakers, we are honored to have Camille Acosta, Dr. Minuette Floyd, Dr. David Todd Lawrence, Dr. Carmella Scorcia Pacheco, Laura Yohualtlahuiz Ríos-Ramirez, Dominique Rodríguez, and Dr. Elena Valdez.

The second half will focus on dialogue and application, providing space for workshop participants to contemplate how they might approach their own teaching with inclusivity. At the workshop’s end, we ask: how, as a field, can we foster knowledge exchange among folklorists engaged in inclusive pedagogical work and support emerging folklorists in implementing inclusive and critical curricula, interdisciplinary research, and collaborative projects?

*This workshop is sponsored by The American Council of Learned Societies’ Intention Foundry society engagement funding initiative (IF Funding initiative).