The Western States Folklore Society holds Annual Meetings to encourage established and early career folklorists to meet each other, present papers, and engage in discussions of all aspects of folklore and folklife.
The Meetings, usually held on a weekend in April and extending from Friday through Sunday morning, are hosted by different colleges or universities throughout the western states from the Rockies to the Pacific.
What to Expect at the Annual Meeting
Presentations and Abstracts:
Members and nonmembers alike can present papers. Papers are presented in sessions with other papers and need to follow the session schedule. Single-paper presentations should run no longer than 20 minutes (about 2,000 words, or 8-10 double-spaced pages, max.). We strongly recommend that authors read their final versions aloud before presentation, to make sure they will not run over the limit.
Abstracts must be 100-150 words in length (not including your name, presentation title, and email address)
Here is a sample abstract from the 2019 Annual Meeting:
ECHEVERRIA, Begoña. (University of California, Riverside). “Basque folklore as feminist fodder.” This paper analyzes the first collections of folktales published in the Basque language, which have yet to be systematically categorized according to the ATU Index: Cerquand’s Ipar Euskal Herriko Legenda eta Ipuinak (1875-1876) and Webster’s Basque Legends: Collected, Chiefly in the Labourd (1879; published in the original Basque in 1993). Specifically, I examine Basque verses of “Bluebird,” “The Name of the Supernatural Helper,” “The Blinded Ogre,” “Sacrifice on the Bridge,” “The Animal as Bridegroom,” “The Maiden Who Seeks Her Brothers” and “The Gifts of the Little People.” I show that, in sharp contrast to the restricted and negative portrayals of female characters in other genres of Basque literature (songs and religious texts) female characters take up a wide variety of roles and identities in these tales. As such, they lend themselves to feminist reinterpretations of Basque culture and identity.
How to submit an Abstract for the upcoming Annual Meeting:
1. Purchase your ticket on the Annual Meeting Registration Page.
2. You will be sent a confirmation email once your ticket has been purchased. In this email, you will have the option to submit your abstract by clicking the abstract submission button at the bottom of your confirmation email.
Archer Taylor Lecture:
One important event in the Society’s Meetings is the invitational Archer Taylor Lecture Series, given by a folklorist of note. Many lectures are subsequently published in the Society’s journal, Western Folklore.
If you know someone who is a member, or are someone who is a member, who would be interested in being nominated to be an Archer Taylor Lecturer, please visit our Nominations page.
Student Travel Stipend
The Society awards up to three stipends of $250 each to help students presenting a paper to defray travel expenses to the annual meeting.
Known as the Elliott Oring Student Travel Stipend, the awards are given to students on the basis of their submitted abstracts. Some preference is given to students who come from afar and incur significant travel expenses in coming to the meeting.
Please apply through the form linked below with the following information:
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Short bio (<100 words)
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Location and Affiliation
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100-150 word abstract of presentation
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350 word abstract of presentation, with attention to the conceptual point of the paper
Questions about attending the Annual Meeting?
Please email Daisy Ahlstone, Operations Manager, at operationsmanager@westernfolklore.org.