Noise and Other Sound Ideas: The Folklore of Pen Tapping
The making of beats by tapping pens or pencils as if they were drum sticks remains a popular children’s folklore pastime. Yet pen tapping has been labeled “noise” by school teachers and ethnomusicologists alike. This presentation shares video footage of pen tapping as it spontaneously occurred in a children’s after school program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Together we will attempt to trace its history and share images of a folk arts series specially designed to honor its rhythmically African roots.
Dr. Anna Beresin is professor emerita at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the US, and she is honored to be a visiting Fulbright scholar at the University of Sheffield’s School of Education. She holds two PhDs from the University of Pennsylvania, one in folklore and one in the psychology of education. Her most recent book is Play in a Covid Frame: Everyday Pandemic Creativity in a Time of Isolation, coedited by Sheffield’s own Dr. Julia Bishop. www.annaberesin.com
This is a hybrid event - please book for IN PERSON here or go to the ONLINE version for that link.
Refreshments will be available at the in person event.
Please let us know of any access requirements in advance: contemporaryfolklore@shef.ac.uk
