AFS Will Meet in Portland, Oregon in 2023 around the Theme “Roots, Rootlessness, and Uprooting”

As announced at the AFS Business Meeting in Tulsa, the American Folklore Society will meet in Portland, Oregon next year. The annual meeting will be held online (October 11-12) and in person November 1-4, 2023 at the Hilton Portland Downtown, 921 SW Sixth Ave, Portland, Oregon.

The theme of the conference is Roots, Rootlessness, and Uprooting, pointing to historic, natural, and social processes of connection, creation, and removal. It also invites us to consider how and why injustice manifests, how it can be confronted, and invites presentations that highlight the role of folklore and folklorists. We invite participants to reflect on notions of roots as they connect to geographies and migration or more broadly to cultural practice or even shifts in disciplines or institutions. How might folklorists contribute to larger conversations in productive ways? 

AFS expresses deep gratitude to the members of the 2023 Portland Local Committee for their essential and collaborative work building this theme statement and laying the groundwork for an engaged and engaging gathering next year. 

We look forward to bringing our annual meeting back to the West Coast!