Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology News

The Summer 2021 issue of Kentucky Folklife is now live! Kentucky Folklife is a multimedia digital publication dedicated to exploring expressive cultures throughout the Commonwealth.

The Kentucky Folklife Program (KFP), part of the Department of Folk Studies & Anthropology at Western Kentucky University is proud to release its third consecutive volume of this online publication. “This summer issue of Kentucky Folklife further highlights the caliber of great documentation work being produced throughout the Commonwealth." shares KFP Director Brent Bjorkman. “With the articles in this issue, it is our desire to continue to promote inclusivity as we share the voices of a diverse and growing group of Kentuckian residents sharing their stories of community.”

Led by editor in chief Delainey Bowers and folklife specialist Joel Chapman, Kentucky Folklife is a collection of essays, interviews and films that actively celebrate and confront what it means to live and work in the Bluegrass State. Instead of relying on tired stereotypes, Kentucky Folklife strives to bring a fresh perspective to longstanding conversations centered on collaboration, community-building, and cultural conservation. The magazine is designed to act as a platform for the established Kentucky Folklife Network, a collection of folklorists, Community Scholars, and like-minded folks who do great work across the state. This past March, a Folklife Gathering was hosted by KFP to further communicate and share programmatic ideas, documentation efforts, and rally support for the network and magazine. Since then, KFP has worked to collect proposals, and work with our board of editors to define the scope of the publication and push our outreach to all corners of the state.

This issue features an audio piece featuring modern-day firsts in the Black Baptist Church, a feminist approach to pottery and community building, and a film demonstrating the process of tapping maples and boiling syrup. “As folklorists, especially now, it is important that we not just document these foundations of community and sense of place, but also help equip communities with the tools to document themselves” says folklife specialist Joel Chapman. Contributors and editors alike have dedicated the last several months to researching and creating content that is engaging, diverse, and wholly representative of Kentucky’s nuanced folkloric traditions. We are proud to share our work with you, and we encourage you to tag along for the ride!

Kentucky Folklife is grant supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and Kentucky Arts Council. Proposals to be featured in the magazine are rolling and we are always looking for new people to share their own work.

https://kyfolklifemag.org/