[URBANTH-L]CFP: Forging Folklore: Witches, Pagans and Neo-Tribal Cultures (Harvard 5/3-5/5)

[Peg Aloi]

Forging Folklore: Witches, Pagans and Neo-Tribal Cultures

Thursday May 3rd through Saturday May 5th 2007

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Keynote Address: Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol (England)
Special Guest Speaker: R. J. Stewart


Call for Papers
Following upon the success of the 2006 conference =93Charming and Crafty:=
=20
Witchcraft and Paganism in Contemporary Media,=94 the Committee on Degree=
s in=20
Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University is pleased to present a two-=
day=20
colloquium on folklore and its uses and contexts within contemporary paga=
n=20
culture. Abstracts are sought which address the following topics (other=20
approaches welcome):

1. Ethnic folklore influences upon contemporary pagan practice (e.g.
    Celtic Druidism, Norse Paganism, Strega, Voodoo, etc.)
2. Folkloric tropes in ritual construction and/or authorship (agrarian
    cults, planting cycles, seasonal festivals, etc.)
3. Folk magic, folkways and folk beliefs appropriated for contemporary
    practice
4. Folklore vs. history and the creation of =93authenticity=94 in pagan
    culture
5. Contemporary pagan media and folklore
6. =93Creative=94 folklore: New oral tradition and faux lineage in the
    crafting of pagan identities
7. Folklore in media representation: film, TV, etc.

We welcome ideas for panels, which will be typically composed of three=20
presentations. Individual sessions will be twenty minutes including=20
questions. Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words by February=20
18th, 2007. Email submissions are preferred.

Please direct any questions or submissions to Hannah Johnston and Peg Alo=
i=20
at: charmingcrafty_at_aol.com.

This conference is hosted by the Committee on Degrees in Folklore &=20
Mythology at Harvard University, and is organized by Professor Stephen=20
Mitchell (Chair, Folklore & Mythology, Harvard), Peg Aloi (Lecturer in Me=
dia=20
Studies, Emerson College) and Hannah Johnston (Lecturer in Media Studies,=
=20
Emerson College).