Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology News

On Thursday, October 31st, 2024 The Kentucky Folklife Program in collaboration with the Department of Society, Culture, Crime, & Justice Studies and the Kentucky Museum will present Ellos no Sabían que Éramos Semillas ~ They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds: A Día de los Muertos Celebration. Beginning at 1:30 pm CST and running until 5:00 pm CST, community members will be able to celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday known as Día de los Muertos at the Kentucky Museum on WKU’s campus. 

The Kentucky Folklife Program, now in its second year of crafting Día de los Muertos programming, prides itself in documenting, presenting, and conserving the diverse traditional culture and heritage of the commonwealth. Earlier in October, the KFP premiered its second annual Community Ofrenda at the Kentucky Museum made up of memories, belongings, and beautiful folk art form the Bowling Green community. In order to keep the Día de los Muertos celebrations flowing, the Ellos no Sabían que Éramos Semillas ~ They Didn’t Know We Were Seeds: A Día de los Muertos Celebration will highlight a brilliant Mexican/Mexican-American tradition with Ofrenda viewing, public conversations, and folk dancing. 

The schedule for this day of remembrance is as follows:

• 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm CST - Community Ofrenda Viewing & Light Refreshments
• 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm CST - Narrative Stage (a public conversation) with Artists, Folklorists, Community Workers, and Activists on the Mexican Holiday Día de los Muertos
• 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm CST - Performance by Folkórico Group Raíces de Mi Tierra from Nashville, Tennessee 

All events are free and open to the public.

If you are unable to physically attend the KFP’s celebration, you will be able to tune into our hybrid Narrative stage from 2:30 pm to 4:00 pm CST using the following Zoom Link:

• https://wku.zoom.us/j/95736396914

We hope to see you there! Both in person, and in spirit.

-Kentucky Folklife Program-

Established in 1989, the Kentucky Folklife Program (KFP) is the Commonwealth’s statewide public folklife program, with the mission to document, present, and conserve the diverse traditional cultures and heritage of Kentucky. In 2012, the KFP moved from Frankfort to the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology at WKU, now the Department of Society, Culture, Crime, & Justice Studies.

For more information, contact KFP Folklife Specialist Camille Maria Acosta: camille.acosta@wku.edu or KFP director Brent Bjorkman:brent.bjorkman@wku.edu 

-KY Museum-  

Mission

The Kentucky Museum enhances the academic mission of Western Kentucky University and provides quality educational and cultural experiences for our campus and community.

Vision

The Kentucky Museum is a teaching museum with premier cultural collections utilized to complement, support, and challenge the academic experience. We also provide a gathering place for our campus and community to come to know and celebrate who they are as individuals and Kentuckians in the 21st century.

-WKU Department of Society, Culture, Crime, & Justice Studies-

Related social science disciplines unite to foster a deeper appreciation of complex issues affecting individuals, communities, and societies. Our department is dedicated to fostering student success through engaging degree programs and experiential learning that lead to meaningful careers. The discoveries and insights of our academic disciplines provide understanding of and solutions to the social, cultural, and biological causes and consequences of human behavior in the past and present. Explore our programs, engage with our applied research opportunities, and contribute to our mission of creating platforms of social engagement where all can flourish.

-WKU-

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.