CFP: FLS Annual Conference 2025

The Folklore Society (FLS) will hold its 2025 annual conference in collaboration with the Department of Folklore and Ethnology, University College Cork, Ireland from Friday 20 June to Sunday 22 June 2025. This will be a hybrid conference and the in-person meeting will be held in Cork.

The theme for the 2025 conference is “Folklore and the Senses”. We know the world through our senses, but how we sense is inflected by symbolism, tradition and belief—by folklore in other words. What does folklore tell us about our senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste and, indeed, second sight?

CALL FOR PAPERS

Papers of 20 minutes are invited on any topic related to folklore and the senses. Topics might include, but are not limited to:

• Folklore of the material world and of embodied experience
• Ethnography of the senses, ethnography of the fleeting or ephemeral
• The role of the senses in folk custom and narrative
• Haptic perception and communication in folklore
• The senses, absences and erasures in documentation, archiving and dissemination

Proposals should be sent to thefolkloresociety@gmail.com with the following materials:

• a title and abstract of a 20-minute presentation (200 words max)
• a brief biographical note (200 words max)
• whether participants wish to present remotely or in person at University College Cork. Remote presenters will need to supply a recording of their presentation, as well as be able to respond to questions online.

The deadline for submitting proposals is Friday 31 January 2025.