Join us this fall for the 135th annual meeting of the American Folklore Society! Find all of your annual meeting information here.

Register now!

The proposal window is March 1-31. Read the full call for papers.

We’re Planning for Virtual + In Person Gatherings

This year, AFS is offering up to two days of dedicated virtual programming, October 11-12, in addition to a four-day, in-person gathering in Portland, Oregon, November 1-4.

AFS will also offer virtual access to some Portland-based programming in the form of streamed keynotes, a limited number of hybrid sessions, and more session recordings.

Learn more in FAQ.

Register and Submit a Proposal by March 31

Registration and the proposal window are open. The proposal submission deadline is March 31, 2023.

You will have the opportunity to select between virtual or in-person presentation modes when you submit your proposal. Chairs proposing pre-organized sessions may also apply to be considered for one of the limited number of hybrid slots in Portland. 

For more information, read the full call for papers.

Fresh produce at the Portland Farmers Market at Portland State University (PSU). The Saturday market at PSU is open year-round, with over a hundred vendors participating.

Meeting Theme

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? 

Learn more

(Image: Fresh produce at the Portland Farmers Market at Portland State University (PSU). The Saturday market at PSU is open year-round, with
more than a hundred vendors participating. Photo by Iris Teeuwen.)

Plan to Participate

Whether or not you plan to present, please plan to participate! Registration provides access to both the fully virtual (Oct. 11-12) and in-person (Nov. 1-4) portions of the annual meeting.

Virtual attendees can expect access to some Portland-based programming in the form of streamed keynotes, a limited number of hybrid sessions, and more session recordings, as well as the full virtual program October 11-12. Place-based attendees can also join the fully virtual components before gathering in Portland for the immersive, in-person conference experience.

The in-person portion of the conference will be held at the Hilton Portland Downtown, 921 SW Sixth Ave, Portland, Oregon.

More information for attendees coming soon

Portland skyline with a snow capped mountain in the background
Portland, Oregon – 3/27/2012: View of snow covered Mt Hood and buildings in downtown Portland, Oregon. Photo by Bob, Adobe Stock #368347453
 

Special Event Request

Organizing a section business meeting or other sponsored event that should take place outside of general sessions, such as lectures, receptions, performances, jam sessions, and the like?

Submit a request no later than March 31. Specify in your request whether the envisioned event would happen in Portland or online.

Preliminary information is sufficient to be given full consideration in scheduling. You don’t have to register to submit.

Sponsors, Exhibitors, and Advertisers

Now, more than ever, we have many options for raising awareness of your work, services or products.

Learn more

View from above of many people gathered in a hotel lobby around posters and exhibit tables
Attendees mingle and interact with local artists demonstrating their work at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Folklore Society in Baltimore. Photo by Meredith McGriff

Questions about the annual meeting? Check our FAQs, or send a message to [email protected].