WKU Folk Studies

05/30/2026

Hanging in the Swag Zone at the Kentucky Birthday Bash at the Kentucky Museum. The Bash is happening until 2! Kentucky Folklife Program

05/28/2026

Come out to the Kentucky Museum this Saturday! It’s gonna be a bash! Kentucky Folklife Program

Join us for our KENTUCKY BIRTHDAY BASH Saturday, May 30, 2026, 10AM-2PM. This FREE event has activities & performances for all ages. Visit event webpage for schedule & information https://ow.ly/i0o750YZzLA

Please help us get the word out by sharing with friends and family!

Western Kentucky University WKU Potter College of Arts & Letters WKU Department of History WKU Folk Studies Kentucky Folklife Program WKU Herald WBKO News WNKY Television Visit BGKY America 250KY

05/08/2026

WKU Folk Studies is happy to present this year's Cam Collins Outstanding Folklore Minor: Ellen Swenson! Ellen graduates TODAY with majors in Anthropology and History and plans to pursue a Ph.D. Congratulations Ellen! We look forward to seeing you continue to pursue your passions! Anthropology at WKU WKU Department of History WKU Department of Society, Culture, Crime, & Justice Studies WKU Potter College of Arts & Letters

04/24/2026

Check out this article by WKU Folk Studies alum Allison Cate ('23) in the Smithsonian Folklife magazine. Congratulations, Allison!

Each year on a Saturday afternoon in early April, dozens of people in homemade robot costumes shuffle down the road to Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue.”

04/21/2026

WKU Folk Studies and the Kentucky Folklife Program are proud of our recent Collins-Bramham events. 🎙️

This included the Collins-Bramham Public Folklore Workshop led by Ellie Dassler (WKU Folk Studies MA ’21), who recently returned from fieldwork with sled dog veterinarians in Alaska, supported by an Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center. She discussed her fieldwork as well as lessons about fieldwork in general. 🐶

This also included a roundtable featuring three incredible WKU Folk Studies alumni: Brielle Freeman (Brielle Freeman - folklore minor ’22), Delainey Bowers (MA ’19), & Ellie Dassler (MA ’21), who each described how they found folklore studies and the many ways that their folklore training is important to their current work and careers. 📖

These events were supported by funding from the Bramham/Collins Visual and Performing Guest Artist Endowment. WKU Folk Studies and the KFP appreciate the generous support that makes such programming possible each year, and we thank all the participants and attendees. 🌟

Looking forward to the next one! 🥳

04/17/2026

Meet WKU Folk Studies alum RaShae Jennings (‘11)! We are so proud of her!

L. RaShae Jennings is the Historic Preservation Coordinator for the Kentucky Heritage Council - SHPO in Frankfort, KY. She received her master’s degree from the Folk Studies Department at Western Kentucky University with her focus being on Historic Preservation. With her position, she performs architectural history research and documentation for cultural historic projects statewide for the section 106 process. She responds to formal submissions of documents to determine whether cultural historic investigations are warranted following state and federal laws related to cultural resource management.

04/13/2026

Kentucky Folklife Program Folklife Specialist Camille Acosta recently guest lectured in FLK 373 Folklore and the Media, sharing her film on La Llorona as a starting point for talking about folklore and film. Camille and the students were equally SO impressed with one another! Thank you, Camille!

04/01/2026

WKU Folk Studies and the Kentucky Folklife Program are excited to present the Collins-Bramham Alumni Roundtable on Tuesday April 7th, 2026, from 11:10 to 12:30 pm CST at the FAC Recital Hall. 🎙️

This roundtable will feature 3 incredible WKU Folk Studies alumni: Brielle Freeman, Delainey Bowers, & Ellie Dassler as they elaborate on how they found folklore studies, their trajectory to their current positions, and how folklore training has contributed to their research, careers, and life. This event is open to the public. 🌟

This Alumni Roundtable is supported each year by funding from the Bramham/Collins Visual and Performing Guest Artist Endowment. The Folk Studies program appreciates the generous support of Drs. Bramham and Collins, which makes it possible to host events highlighting the work of public folklorists. 🎞️

This endowment will also be funding the Collins-Bramham Public Folklore Workshop on Monday April 8th, 2026, an event for students interested in ethnographic fieldwork and public folklore led by Ellie Dassler. 🌈

We hope to see you there! 📚

03/26/2026

03/14/2026

Call for photographers!