*Note: This event is part of the Tech for Good series being presented during Walk the Walk Week.
Description
Folklore lives in all of us—in what we make, celebrate, and pass down. This collaborative presentation will bring together students from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and academic technologists from the University of Notre Dame to explore how expressive cultural practices can create pathways toward solidarity, dignity, and mutual understanding.
Through folklore stories written by UTEP students in Professor Meredith Abarca’s Mexican-American Folklore class, and showcased via a mixed-media technology platform provided at Notre Dame, we will discover how rituals, music, food, celebrations, and oral traditions carry deep personal meaning while reflecting universal human experiences of love, belonging, and hope. These borderlands stories, some archived in UTEP’s Institute of Oral History “El Paso Folklore” collection, reveal how communities preserve their unique identities while participating in a shared story.
Folklore connects the intimate with the universal. A family recipe, a seasonal festival, and/or a traditional song can embody lived experiences and aspirations that stretch far beyond any single moment. Rather than remaining frozen in time, these traditions adapt to new realities, demonstrating creativity as one of our greatest strengths. When we gather, share, and preserve folklore, we sustain not only distinct cultural roots, but also build upon what seems to be a singular narrative about border culture.
This presentation will invite you to engage with borderlands folklore and practice the empathy and respect necessary for creating the Beloved Community.
Session Objectives
- Understand folklore as a living practice that preserves cultural identity while adapting to contemporary realities, demonstrating how tradition and innovation coexist in meaningful ways
- Recognize connections between folklore and Catholic social teaching, particularly how expressive cultural practices embody principles of solidarity, human dignity, and community-building central to Notre Dame’s mission
- Develop empathy across cultural differences by exploring how borderlands communities use folklore to navigate questions of belonging and hope—experiences that resonate universally while remaining culturally specific
- Appreciate the role of oral history and cultural preservation in honoring voices from communities and ensuring their stories contribute to broader conversations about culture
- Identify ways folklore practices in individuals’ own lives connect personal and family traditions to larger cultural narratives, fostering reflection on how everyday practices carry meaning and shape identity
- Consider practical applications of folklore’s lessons for building the Beloved Community at Notre Dame, recognizing how attention to cultural expression strengthens our collective commitment to justice and belonging
Presenters
- Meredith Abarca, Department of English, University of Texas at El Paso
- Steven Varela, OIT Teaching and Learning Technologies, Notre Dame
Originally published at learning.nd.edu.