CFP: Folklore, People and Place

Editors Jack Hunter and Rachael Ironside seek chapter submissions for Folklore, People and Place, a proposed volume for consideration by Routledge in the book series, “Routledge Advances in Tourism and Anthropology: People, place and world.”

This book is an exploration of the role of folklore, culture and belief in mediating human relationships with the natural environment. Folklore has been widely recognized amongst scholars as a resource to promote and reimagine places (Light 2007; Mathe-Soulek, Aguirre, and Dallinger 2016), providing an opportunity to engage visitors with heritage, culture and the environment (Hopper et al. 2019; Paphitis 2013). The popularity of folklore in tourism is seen across the globe as destinations and heritage sites draw upon their stories as a form of intangible cultural heritage. Others have also recognized the value of myth, folklore and storytelling, as a resource to promote ecological learning and engagement with the natural world (Hopper et al., 2019; Hallam, 2019). At a time of ecological crisis – such as the period we are currently living through – new approaches to fostering a positive relationship with the living planet, for example through folklore, is an important area of consideration (Hunter, 2020). However, others have recognized the negative consequences of using folklore as a tool for ‘place making’ leading to environmental degradation (Ironside & Massie, 2020), commodification of heritage and the fragmentation of historical and personal narratives (Goldstein, Grider, and Thomas 2007). The potential value and tensions between folklore, landscape and tourism provide an important line of inquiry. As Rachael Ironside and Stewart Massie discuss thinking about landscapes and ecosystems through a ‘folklore-centric gaze’ (2020)—as our ancestors likely did, and as many indigenous traditions have been doing for thousands of years (cf. Yunkaporta, 2019; Nelson and Shilling, 2018)—has the potential to transform the way that we relate to, and behave within, the natural environment.

This book will contribute towards the development of a better understanding of how folklore—understood broadly as the beliefs and stories of ordinary people—can influence behavior in certain landscapes, and will explore how land use decisions can be made to protect and preserve intangible cultural heritage alongside the human and non-human communities that constitute our landscapes and environments. The book will showcase a range of case studies from different cultural and ecological contexts showing how folklore can and does mediate human relationships with people, places and the natural world.

We welcome book chapter contributions centered (but not exclusively) on the following themes:

• The relationship between folklore, tourism and the natural environment
• The challenges and opportunities of folklore and tourism
• Folklore and place-making
• People and folklore in the heritage and natural environment
• The role of folklore as an educational resource in understanding place and environment
• Folklore and environmental behavior
• Folklore as conservation in the natural and/ or heritage environment
• Future perspectives on folklore, people and place

Submission Procedure:

Each chapter submitted to this edited book is subject to the following submission and review procedures:

• a) expressions of interest are invited through provision of a working title and up to 500-word abstract of the proposed chapter. Abstracts should include chapter title, authorship list, author affiliations, contact information and keywords;
• b) if your abstract is found suitable, you will be invited to submit your full chapter. Each chapter needs to be approximately 5000–6000 words long;
• c) the chapters will go through a double-blind review process;
• d) based on the reviewers’ recommendation, the editors will decide whether the particular submission should be accepted as it is, revised and resubmitted, or rejected.

Deadline for abstract submission: June 30, 2021

Interested authors should email their abstracts (500 words) and an author biography (150 words) to the editors Dr. Rachael Ironside ([email protected]) and Dr. Jack Hunter ([email protected]).

Notification of abstract acceptance: July 31, 2021
Submission of Full Paper: November 30, 2021
Revision and Final Decision: March 31, 2022
Final Print Version Available (Tentative): July 31, 2022