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British Folk Studies Conference
University of California, Berkeley
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Thursday April 20, 2006
370/371 Dwinelle Hall
On behalf of the British Folk Studies Section of the American Folklore
Society, the students and faculty of the University of California at
Berkeley Folklore Program invite you to join us for a one-day British
Folk Studies conference. Preliminary plans include a workshop, a forum
discussion, a section meeting, and a reception. The reception will be
hosted by the Folklore Program at Berkeley will also serve as the
opening of the Western States Folklore Society (formerly California
Folklore Society) Annual Meeting, being held at Berkeley, April 21-23,
2006.
The overarching theme for this year’s WSFS meeting is “Theoretical
Directions.” We plan to incorporate some consideration of that theme
into this linked conference as we take an overview of the state of the
field and current research and theoretical directions in British Folk
Studies. The last few years have seen some interesting new developments
in the UK as British folklorists and scholars of British folklore have
questioned old geographical and conceptual boundaries and borders, made
new collaborations and encouraged fresh theoretical frameworks and
methodological approaches. Folklore Studies as a discrete academic
discipline continues to have a marginalized position in much of the UK
university sector, but is integrated into a rapidly shifting range of
cognate disciplinary areas, and we will be discussing some of these
recent movements.
Conference Goals: Practice and Theory
The immediate goals of the conference are two-fold: We want to
encourage students and younger scholars to gain practical experience
and to be aware of and actively help develop new paradigms and
theoretical models. In the morning folk music workshop students are
introduced to an important way of “doing” folklore -- through
participatory experience. In the afternoon session, to be led by Dr.
Juliette Wood from Cardiff University, we explore some of the recent
changes, new developments and unresolved issues in British folklore
studies and how these may relate to the present state of folkloristics
in the United States. What roles should we play in advancing folklore
studies on both sides of the Atlantic? The evening reception will bring
together British Folk Studies and WSFS conference guests.
Preliminary Program
9:00 – 9:30 a.m.
Registration and Welcome
9:30 – noon. Singing is
Believing. Folk music workshop designed and led by Pam Swan
Noon – 1:30 p.m. Lunch. Local restaurants
1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Compounding Saxons:Overriding the
Boundaries of British Folk Studies. A forum led by invited speaker,
Juliette Wood (Cardiff University); Center for British Studies
discussant, Daniel F. Melia (UC Berkeley)
4:00 – 5:45 p.m. New Collaborations and Current
Projects in the UK: A reporting session chaired by AFS British Section
Convener Teri Brewer (University of Glamorgan)
6:00 p.m. Reception
The British Folk Studies conference is free of charge to UC Berkeley
students, faculty, and alumni, and AFS, WSFS and Folklore Society (UK)
members. For more information and to make a reservations contact:
Maria Teresa Agozzino
mabela@berkeley.edu
Ph.D. Candidate in Folklore and Celtic Studies
232 Kroeber Hall, Department of Anthropology
University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
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Sponsored by UC Berkeley’s
Center for British Studies and Celtic Colloquium, and the
British Folk Studies Section of the American Folklore Society
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