Special Collections: Folklore and Folklife of New Jersey Collection of Class Projects

Starting in about 1975, a course entitled Folklore was offered by the Anthropology program at Stockton State College (ANTH2113). In 1978, the course was moved to General Studies as a general topic and renamed “Folklore & Folklife of New Jersey.” The course description that year indicated that the course would study “the rich traditional cultures of New Jersey within the framework of contemporary folk lore and folk life” (Stockton State College, p. 41). Some of the topics to be examined were music, beliefs, customs, and rituals and the course required a field project. These projects resulted in the collection described here. 

The instructor, Tom Ayres, was a graduate of Stockton (1974), who went on to Western Kentucky University for a master’s degree in Folklore. This collection contains 14 student projects created as part of the “Folklore & Folklife of New Jersey” class. These include photographs, recordings, and presentations on a range of topics – from items dealing with the Pinelands and Piney culture to Stockton-specific lore and events. Not every project includes the name of the creator and not every project is dated. Those that are dated seem to be from Fall 1976, Fall 1977, and Spring 1978. 

It does not appear that students or those interviewed filled out permission forms. As such these items are available only for research and educational purposes and copies may not be made without the written permission of the creators and subjects. 

Collection processed by Heather Halpin Perez, Special Collections Librarian, November 2024.

While Stockton University’s Bjork Library’s Special Collection and Archives owns the collection, Stockton may not own the copyright for all of the items. Researchers wishing to reproduce materials are responsible for obtaining the proper permissions.