Journal of Folklore and Education Publishes Death, Loss, and Remembrance Across Cultures: A Role for Folklore in Education

JFE co-editors Lisa Rathje and Paddy Bowman and the Guest Editors Bretton Varga and Mark Helmsing announce the publication of the Journal of Folklore and Education Volume 9, “Death, Loss, and Remembrance Across Cultures”.

The volume asks: What is the role of folklore in education in teaching and learning about death, loss, and remembrance? Death, Loss, and Remembrance prompts readers to consider their own complex and complicated relationship(s) to death and contemplate how people come to understand themselves, each other, and the world around them. Folklore can be a resource in helping heal from the trauma of loss and death while also aiding ongoing efforts to reckon with historical trauma from our shared histories. Such healing and reflection can occur through cultural practices of remembrance and the building of educational practices that promote temporal literacy.

From ritual to spirituality and in concepts of time and history; through poetry, comic art, community mapping, folklife festival, museum exhibition, and family life—Volume 9 offers activities and content for learners of all ages. Readers can find tools to support reflection around Covid and disaster. Trauma-informed frameworks and activities suited for social-emotional learning can be found in the 15+ articles.

Read “Death, Loss, and Remembrance Across Cultures” on the Journal of Folklore and Education website.