Kutse: 10. rahvusvaheline noorte folkloristide konverents "Lore Makers, Law Breakers: Tradition, Change, and People" 19.-21. mail 2021

10th International Conference of Young Folklorists

Lore Makers, Law Breakers: Tradition, Change, and People

May 19-21, 2021

University of Tartu, Estonia

The conference is held fully online

Plenary speakers:

Mirjam Mencej (Professor of Folklore Studies and Comparative Mythology), University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Elliott Oring (Professor Emeritus of Anthropology), California State University, Los Angeles, and a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University

In 2020, the Young Folklorists Conference celebrated its first decade: annual meetings for graduate students and young scholars in the field of folkloristics and related disciplines have been held in Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia since 2010. The conference has been a lively forum for young folklorists to present their research to an international audience, to make fresh contacts, and to boost communication between scholars from different countries and with varying academic backgrounds.

The topic of the 2021 conference, "Lore Makers, Law Breakers: Tradition, Change, and People", stresses the dynamic and ever-present role of folklore and tradition in shaping everyday culture. Rules and patterns, whether seen or unseen, organise the social world and thus have been the focus of academic analysis since the beginning of the systematic collection and study of folklore. However, the breaking of traditions constitutes an organic counterpart to these continuities, one that challenges and renews social bonds, brings unseen viewpoints to light, and allows us to see the category of tradition itself differently (not least as an analytic category).

In addition, the currently turbulent political climate involves, in some cases, the foregrounding and instrumentalization of concepts such as 'nation', 'traditions' and 'conservative values'. In another development, the growth in digital communication gives rise to networks, mediums and creative tools to express and enhance polyvocal vernacular expression. These are both broad topics that papers at the conference might address.

The conference aims to address these and other challenges folklorists face when studying tradition-making and tradition-breaking and welcomes proposals touching on to the following subtopics (and other related themes):

individuals and communities
the authority of tradition
publicity and secrecy
tradition and modernity
conservatism and liberalism in traditions
heritage production
debates around tradition and change
lore and law

The working language of the conference is English. Applicants who wish to propose a panel in a language other than English should contact the organisers.

We ask you to submit the titles of your papers, abstracts of 200-250 words, and information about your affiliation to via the registration form before February 1st, 2021. Notifications of acceptance or rejection will be sent out by March 1st at the latest. There is no conference fee, but most of the participants are expected to cover their travel and accommodation expenses. Given that there is only a limited amount of free accommodation available, if you are interested in it, we kindly ask that you indicate this on your submission form. However, free accommodation cannot be guaranteed for all applicants.

Organisers:

Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu
Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore
Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art, University of Latvia
Tartu Nefa Group

Organizing Committee: Anastasiya Astapova, Anastasiya Fiadotava, Kristel Kivari, Alina Oprelianska, Danila Rygovskiy, Pihla Maria Siim and Ülo Valk.

Contacts:

youngfolklorists@gmail.com (Anastasiya Fiadotava, conference secretary)