Songs That Remember: Oral Traditions and Cultural Resilience in Diasporic Families
This talk will explore the performance of songs and lullabies as an act of perseverance to preserve cultural memories. The oral transmission of memories through songs is critically important to diasporic families, where languages and stories can easily be lost.
In an Erie Art Museum project initiated by folklorist Kelly Armor, members of immigrant communities in Erie, Pennsylvania, were invited to record children's songs in their native languages, leading to a beautiful cultural cross-pollination and the most fertile understandings of new knowledge as immigrant families undergo cultural integration and transition in the new land.
Dr. Shreelina Ghosh's project reveals that the stories in them often transmit cultural values, practices, and history. They express and perpetuate native epistemologies within the context of colonial suppression to transmit cultural knowledge and perspectives, even against the odds. These stories in the songs are often of hurt, violence, and loss.
Join Dr. Ghosh, the director of the writing program at Gannon University, to learn about these stories in the songs and argue that lullabies are not simply soothing music to put a child to sleep. They are the foundations of learning and connecting to one's cultural identity. A caregiver's chanting of the lullabies is vital in the preservation of cultural memories, especially in diasporic families.
This event is part of the JES's USA 250 Event Series.
Location: Jefferson Educational Society - 3207 State St, Erie, PA 16508
Date/Time: Monday, March 16, 7-8:30PM
Admission: $10, $15 with guest
Additional Fees: Amusement Tax, Processing Fee
*If you do NOT receive a letter from info@jeserie.org within 24-48 hours regarding your registration, please check your spam or junk folder. Thank you!
Dr. Shreelina Ghosh is the Director of the Writing Program at Gannon University. Her research interests are mostly centered on the intersections of cultural and digital rhetorics, hybrid learning, cultural studies, and performance. She has published several peer-reviewed articles in major journals in her discipline and book chapters. Her current scholarly engagements include the exploration of cultural practices from a non-Western rhetorical perspective. She teaches courses in Professional Communication and College Composition.
Dr. Ghosh has undergone rigorous training in this ancient artistic practice since the age of four. She performed at major dance festivals in India and garnered media interest for her innovative dance productions before moving to the USA for her PhD studies in Digital Rhetorics at Michigan State University. Currently, she teaches dance to the youth of her community. Dr. Ghosh serves as a member of the Erie Arts and Culture Board of Trustees, volunteers at several community performance organizations, and organizes and performs dance at cultural events both nationally and locally.
