From left to right: Kenny Arbuckle, Katie Headley, Sadik Yaqub, Habiba Hassan, and Sara Cho Sangeun pose at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY

We’ve always heard that in the liberal arts tradition of the West, one needs to know about a wide range of things to be a complete citizen and that those who are to be educated and productive members of society have to be exposed even to things that they may (initially) deem not worthy of attention. Honors students in Professor Felicia McMahon’s course, “Folk Arts , Festival and Public Display” recently visited the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY where students were introduced to  traditional artists of the region as well as refugee communities in Central New York. The previous week the students visited Syracuse’s African International Restaurant, a popular gathering place for new immigrants from Somalia and other African countries. As Professor McMahon  emphasizes, “To know the soul of a people, learn about their folklore.”