WKU News

Jan 22nd, 2025

The Kentucky Folklife Program is pleased to announce the 2025 winner of the Homer Ledford Award. Based at Western Kentucky University, the KFP has a long history of working with the Kentucky Arts Council to document, present, conserve, and teach the publ

Oct 29th, 2024

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

Feb 23rd, 2024

On Monday, February 26th, at 5:30 pm the Kentucky Folklife Program (KFP), in the WKU Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology, will host an online premiere of the Spring 2024 issue of its digital magazine, Kentucky Folklife. This eighth issue highligh

Feb 21st, 2024

Julius Ayin, a senior studying anthropology and folklore, will present “To Leave the Dead in the House: Deathways, Community, and Change in Yap Island” as part of the Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology’s monthly Brown Bag Lecture Series.

Feb 13th, 2024

Associate professor Jean-Luc Houle was awarded a grant from the Rust Family Foundation to support his ongoing archaeology research in Mongolia.

Feb 1st, 2024

The application window for the 2024-2025 Drs. Du-Powell Scholarship in Anthropology opened on February 1 and applications will be accepted until February 29, 2024.

Jan 25th, 2024

The Kentucky Museum will host the grand opening for the Farmer Cultural Awareness Project from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday; remarks will begin at 4:30 p.m. The exhibit is a collaborative effort to collect and share the experiences of area farmers.

Jan 2nd, 2024

WKU's Kentucky Archaeological Survey partners to reprint the classic "Kentucky Before Boone" poster.

Dec 22nd, 2023

Retired Professor of Folk Studies William Lynwood Montell passed away on December 21. WKU Folk Studies joins his family, friends, colleagues, and his many admirers in Kentucky and beyond in the deep sadness of our collective loss.

Oct 16th, 2023

The WKU Department of Folk Studies & Anthropology and the Kentucky Folklife Program will host a meet-up for oral historians in Southcentral and West Kentucky on November 17, with funding support from the Oral History Association.

Oct 10th, 2023

The Kentucky Folklife Program in partnership with the International Communities Liaison Program and the WKU Folk Studies & Anthropology Department, will host a Hispanic Heritage Celebration titled, “Tejido por la Historia; Sobrevivido de Corazón ~ Wov

Oct 4th, 2023

The Kentucky Folklife Program in partnership with WKU Folk Studies & Anthropology Department will host an interactive public ofrenda to celebrate Día de los Muertos and the vibrant Hispanic communities of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Sep 27th, 2023

The Kentucky Folklife Program in partnership with the WKU Folk Studies & Anthropology Department, will host the folk artist Willie Rascoe, Kentucky Woodcarver crafting artwork that weaves spirt and heart together into one.

Sep 11th, 2023

This past week, four students in the Folk Studies MA and Folklore Minor programs presented their reflections on their internship experiences in three different museums in Bowling Green and the surrounding region.

Aug 25th, 2023

The Kentucky Folklife Program in partnership with the Potter College of Arts & Letters Cultural Enhancement Series and South Arts, will host the musical duo Larry & Joe, musicians and storytellers crafting a Venezuelan/Appalachian melodic fusion.

Apr 5th, 2023

The Kentucky Folklife Program is pleased to welcome Camille Acosta as the new Folklife Specialist. She began the position on March 27th, 2023.

Mar 18th, 2023

WKU Folk Studies will wrap up the 50 Years of Folklore Graduate Studies at WKU speaker series with a talk by alumnus Dr. Peggy Bulger on Thursday, March 23rd at 5:30 at the Kentucky Museum entitled “Public Folklore in the USA: Born of Activism."

Feb 21st, 2023

WKU will host Dr. Marilyn White this Thursday, February 23rd, at 5:30 in the Western Room of the Kentucky Museum, as part of the Folk Studies 50th anniversary speaker series. Dr. White is president of the American Folklore Society and former WKU faculty.

Feb 16th, 2023

The Kentucky Folklife Program will award the 2023 Homer Ledford Award to George Wakim and Tommy Case at the 2023 Kentucky Crafted Market at the Kentucky Horse Park Alltech Arena in Lexington on March 11th.

Feb 3rd, 2023

Dr. Gwynn Henderson, Education Director for the Kentucky Archaeological Survey, is the 2023 recipient of the Society for American Archaeology Distinguished Achievement in Public Archaeology Award.