Call for Papers: Locating Women in 'The Folk'

Details

Published: Thursday, 07 December 2017 15:54

Perspectives on women's contributions to folk song, folklore and cultural traditions

Saturday 9 June 2018, University of Sussex

Women have always been central to the study and practice of folklore, arts and cultural traditions—as tradition bearers, performers, authors, collectors, storytellers and scholars. However, their contribution hasn’t always received the recognition it deserves; this symposium aims to redress the balance. We are inviting 20-minute papers/presentations and A1 poster presentations on relevant topics, which may include:

• Singers, dancers, musicians, storytellers, and other performance roles
• Performance styles, repertoire and source
• Facilitators, revivals and teaching
• Contributions to scholarship
• Legacies and archives
• Gender relations in folk cultures
• Life narratives, autoethnographies, biographies, and oral histories
• Depictions of women as subject matter in song and story
• Portrayals of women, gender roles, and identity
• Perspectives on the future for women in ‘the folk’

We welcome applications from all levels within academia, as well as from independent researchers, writers and enthusiasts.

Please send proposals of 250 words, a short biography, and the mode of presentation (paper, presentation, poster) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 26 January 2018.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This conference is co-presented by Sussex Traditions, The Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research (University of Sussex), and The English Folk Dance & Song Society, and supported by The Centre for Memories, Narratives and Histories (Brighton University), and Sussex University’s Music Department.

Photograph courtesy of Peter Perry. The fiddler is Richard Sharp of the Boxgrove Tipteers and the ladies are dancing ‘The Black Nag’ in the garden of Richard Sharp’s house in Chichester.