Thursday Oct 16
12pm – 5:30pm
Douglass Student Center, NJC Lounge
100 George St, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Join us for a day of presentations and conversations about the practice of oral history to document the heritage, folk music, and food cultures of South Jersey. Our speakers will discuss how their oral histories contribute foundational material to the projects which support the vitality of artistic communities, occupational traditions, and food cultures that continue to thrive in South Jersey Today.
Our Symposium is presented by the Department of American Studies, Rutgers University New Brunswick
12:30 – 1:30 Douglass Student Center – NJC Lounge
Joe Makoviecki – Oral Histories of Folk Music in the Pinelands Workshop.
(Mr. Makoviecki will present In-Person)
This talk meets concurrently with the American Folklore 050:263 class.
Mr. Makoviecki will present his recent oral history fieldwork project documenting the ongoing legacy of folk music in the Pinelands. Supported by a grant New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Makoviecki’s work will be housed at the Perkins Center for the Arts. With his band Jackson Pines, Makoviecki has been researching, transforming, and performing folk songs of the Pinelands for a new generation. Makoviecki and Jackson Pines have been resident artists with the Artist Encounter program in the Department of American Studies at Rutgers New Brunswick. Please register to let us know you would like to attend.
2:00 – 3:00 – Douglass Student Center – NJC Lounge
Conversation and Roundtable with Sally Van de Water, Folk Arts Program Officer for New Jersey State Council on the Arts
Undergraduates, Graduate Students, Faculty, and Community Members are welcome to join for light refreshments and an opportunity to discuss projects learn about the NJSCA Folklife Program, its centers, and its grants. Ms. Van de Water will open with a brief informational presentation about NJSCA Folklife opportunities and projects. Participants encouraged to bring project ideas on any oral history or public humanities topic (not limited to South Jersey) to share and workshop with each other and our speakers. Students are encouraged to discuss emerging research projects, class assignments, or internship activities. Please register to let us know you would like to attend if there is a project you would like to discuss! https://amerstudies.rutgers.edu/news-and-events/upcoming-events/icalrepeat.detail/2025/10/16/406/-/oral-histories-and-heritage-in-south-jersey-symposium
4:00 – 5:00 – Douglass Student Center NJC Lounge
Rachel Dolhanczyk, Constance McCart, and Sally Van de Water – Oral Histories of Oystering in the Delaware Bay
(Ms. Van de Water will join the presentation in person. Ms. Dolhanczyck and Ms. McCart will join the presentation via zoom)
This talk meets concurrently with the American Food 050:272 class.
Rachel Dolhanczyk is the curator of the Bayshore Center, an historic waterfront museum in Bivalve, New Jersey and home of the state’s official tall ship, the oyster schooner AJ Meerwald. With Constance McCart, Dolhanczyk co-authored the book The A.J. Meerwald and New Jersey’s Oyster Industry. Before becoming Program Officer for Folk and Traditional Arts at NJSCA, Sally Van de Water conducted numerous oral histories that became part of the Bayshore Center’s collection. Together, our speakers will address the process of the collection of oral histories and their importance to the preservation of oyster heritage in the Delaware Bay today. Please register to let us know you would like to attend.