AFS Education Session Guide 2025

Oct 8, 2025

 

FOLKLORE AND EDUCATION SECTION GUIDE TO AFS 2025

American Folklore Society conference sessions of particular interest to educators and our section membership

The 137th annual meeting of the American Folklore Society is October 18–21, 2025, at Crowne Plaza Midtown in Atlanta. The virtual part of the meeting will be held on the conference platform November 12–14, 2025.

 

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2025

563 Teaching with Folk Sources: Learning from People’s Stories  8:30 AM – 3:00 PM Georgia Ballroom (with add-on events Friday night for GA Teachers interested in potential PLUs Credit Hours)

Sponsored by Folklore and Education Section

The Local Learning TPS team offers teaching tools and materials that engage the digitally available archival holdings of the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress alongside local and regional collections, bringing them into conversation to create a fuller, more complex narrative of American communities, history, and people. From hip hop narratives to veterans’ oral histories, and from teaching with sound to identifying bias in the archive, Local Learning has worked collaboratively with partners across the nation to use American Folklife Center collections of the Library of Congress to engage, inspire, and inform learners through their Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program. TPS is the Library of Congress’ premier educational program, focused on helping educators enhance students’ critical thinking, analysis skills, and content knowledge using the Library’s collections of millions of digitized primary sources.

Presenters include

  • Lee Ann Potter, Director of Professional Learning and Outreach Initiatives at the Library of Congress
  • Monica Mohindra, Director of the Veterans History Project, Library of Congress
  • Dr. View, Assistant Professor of Creative Practice in Popular Music at The Ohio State University and founder of Fire in Little Africa, a 21-track hip hop album signed to Motown Records and project that engaged primary sources from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
  • Hayden Haynes (Seneca, Deer Clan), Director at Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center/Seneca-Iroquois National Museum
  • Local Learning and our Partners, with staff from the American Folklife Center, Vermont Folklife, Oklahoma Oral History Research Program, and New York Folklore

The workshop is free for registered attendees of the Oral History Association or American Folklore Society meetings. Note, even if you are registered for OHA or AFS, we suggest you register for the workshop since seats are limited. Walk-ins are limited to seats available and may not receive handouts or certificates of participation without registering in advance. Register and learn more at https://locallearningnetwork.org/teaching-with-folk-sources.

Cost for teachers and education staff, including paraprofessionals, is $25.

Pay the $25 Educator Day Rate when you register here. This includes Dr. Bettina Love’s OHA keynote Friday 7:00-9:00 PM (see below).

Of special interest

This year, Atlanta will be a very exciting place to be since the Oral History Association conference overlaps the American Folklore Society conference. We also invite you to look over the Oral History Association’s conference program as they have much of interest to folklife educators including paper sessions and hands-on workshops. https://oralhistory.org/2025/07/08/view-the-preliminary-program-register-for-the-annual-meeting

OHA’S KEYNOTE FRIDAY OCTOBER 17, 7:00-9:00PM, IS BY BETTINA L. LOVE. 

WORTH ARRIVING AT AFS EARLY TO CATCH THIS!

Love, Joy, Creativity & the Brain: The Heart of Culturally Responsive Education

— Bettina L. Love

In this inspiring keynote, Dr. Love explores the transformative power of love in education—within the classroom and beyond. Rooted in the belief that love and joy are the foundations of meaningful learning and human connection, she blends compelling storytelling, evidence-based research, and practical strategies to show how emotionally grounded teaching can radically reshape educational spaces. Drawing from the groundbreaking neuroscience of Zaretta Hammond and the liberatory teachings of bell hooks, Dr. Love centers love not as sentimentality, but as an ethic—one rooted in care, accountability, and justice. She highlights how culturally responsive teaching, when combined with joy and emotional attunement, aligns both with how the brain learns best and how communities heal and thrive. Creativity is presented as a vital force—a tool to honor cultural diversity, affirm identities, and spark curiosity—inviting students into deeper engagement and a stronger sense of belonging. This keynote offers educators an inspiring and actionable vision for designing classrooms where every child feels seen, valued, and empowered to thrive. It is a call to reimagine education as a space of love, creativity, and collective liberation.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2025

01-04 Narratives that Reshape and Restory Children’s Lives 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EDT Sky East

Brandon Barker, Negar Noofeli, Gina Zimbardi, Elisa Alfonso

369 Nursery Rhymes ReStorying in Interwar America – Nursery Rhymes in Safety Education 8:45 AM – 9:15 AM EDT Sky East

Gina Zimbardi

In the early 20th century, America saw unprecedented economic, population, and diplomatic growth. This era introduced groundbreaking advancements like the light bulb, flight, and automobiles, driving the golden age of industrialization. Post-World War I, these innovations became accessible to the middle class, prompting safety regulations. The Progressive Era ushered in educational and social reforms, using nursery rhymes to educate on safety amid technological luxuries. Government bodies and safety committees employed nursery rhymes to teach health practices, aiming to protect children and standardize safety nationwide. This presentation examines how nursery rhymes conveyed safety during this transformative period in American history.

 

219 02-02 Roots of Knowing: At the Intersection of Folklore Studies and Library Science 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EDT Atlanta Ballroom/AB

Virginia Siegel, Sara Barclay, Ellen Urton, Sarah Milligan, Ceylon Woods

The disciplines of folklore studies and library and information science have long held a shared concern for the ways that individuals learn, assess, and share information. As is common in academia, though, these scholarly conversations are often held in parallel rather than common spaces. This panel brings together five individuals (four panelists and one discussant) working in libraries, each having taken different pathways to the field of folklore. While each panelist discusses different projects at the intersection of folklore and librarianship, the underlying thread asks what folklorists might learn from librarianship, and, crucially, what folklore might contribute to library science.

 

464 02-04 Sustaining Tradition, Building Careers: Public Folklore, Applied (Ethno)musicology, and University Partnerships in the 21st Century 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EDT Sky East

Sponsored by the Independent Folklorists Section.

Carrie Danielson, Elizabeth Uchimura, Gwendolyn Saporito-Emler, Julian Duncan, Zachary Moreau

This forum explores how university-community partnerships connect students to careers in applied ethnomusicology and public folklore. Panelists, including music faculty, library staff, and graduate students, will share best practices for integrating community engagement into academic programs. Case studies like the Tallahassee Regional Music Collection (TRMC) and folk festival collaborations highlight how these partnerships foster cultural sustainability, community empowerment, and professional development. Emphasizing that culture work is care work, these collaborations preserve traditions, build community resilience, and provide students with hands-on experience in documentation, curation, and festival management, creating meaningful career pathways in ethnomusicology and public folklore.

 

520 02-08 Lessons in Crafting Community 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EDT Peachtree

Diana Baird N’Diaye, Dawn Murphy, Darcy Holdorf, Minuette Floyd, Camila Bryce-Laporte

This forum presents stories, perspectives and gleanings from participants in a week-long planning and craft education event at the in Brasstown, North Carolina–an outgrowth of a three year participatory research partnership between the African American Craft Alliance and the John C. Campbell Folk School. Discussants will consider the narratives emerging from the event with reference to the following theory of change: Community cohesion and collective agency can be reinforced and enhanced across differences through the utilization of folk methodologies ie. Collective participation in folk and craft activities, informal and formal exchanges of dialogue, craft knowledge and skills in the context of folk schools and joint participation in other craft events.

 

Folklore and Education Section Business Meeting 12:15 PM – 1:15 PM EDT Roswell

Sponsored by Folklore and Education Section

The Folklore and Education Section meets to discuss section business, award section prizes, plan for the coming year, and discuss issues of interest to our section membership. Anyone interested in folklore and education is invited and welcome to attend. (Note – only section members can vote, but all can participate in discussions.)

 

03-07 Folklore, Pedagogy, and Cultural Bridges 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM EDT Rear Salon

Christine Zinni, Kathryn Kimiecik Foley, Veronica Ponce de Leon Plascencia

483 The Fight of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation for their Way of Life: Cross Cultural Communication and Relevant Conversations 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM EDT Rear Salon

Christine Zinni

This Session focuses on teaching strategies in my Environmental Knowledge and Women’s lives classes that have engaged SUNY Brockport students in Cross-cultural Communication with citizens of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation who currently face an existential threat to their existence and lifeways with the creation of mega industrial data center adjacent to their homelands in western New York State. It is proposed in conjunction with a screening of the ten-minute film co-produced by the Tonawanda Seneca “Unheard Voices: The Fight of the Tonawanda Seneca’s for Their Way of Life” scheduled at a separate time during the conference.

 

516 Puppets and Folk-Art Education Help Newcomer Students To Belong To A New Place  2:15 PM – 3:00 PM EDT Rear Salon

Sponsored by Folklore and Education Section

Veronica Ponce de Leon Plascencia

The puppet as the main protagonist in the learning of the English language for students K-12 new welcomes to this country creating from scratch a character of a Mayan legend, will initially read the legend in his own language. Then they are given the script of the play in English they will go to the music section, they will know instruments they will play them, and they will be created a puppet with papier mâché, it is a puppet show for children, they all will read in English, they will act their character, with emotions and set up their stage, play the music and move their puppet.

 

03-09 Diving Deep into Culture Learning: Folklife Education in K-12 Music Classrooms 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM EDT Roswell

Linda Deafenbaugh, Lindsay Dodoras, Avalon Nemec, Lisa Stein

Sponsored by Folklore and Education Section

147 What a Meaningful Way to Study Culture: Folklife Education in Music Class 1:30 PM – 2:00 PM EDT Roswell

Linda Deafenbaugh

Folklife education provides an educational approach that enables educators to deepen student learning about culture. Music educators have long been invested in including the richness of the world’s music into their classrooms, but far too often the ways this has been done end up falling short by being cursory or superficial. What is the folklife education approach? Why include it in music classrooms? What can K-12 students gain from a music program that includes folklife education? I examine some of the many ways folklife education can help educators center culture in meaningful ways in the music classroom.

235 Welcoming the Authentic Voice: Fostering Folk Art Education in the General Music Classroom 2:00 PM – 2:30 PM EDT Roswell

Lindsay Dodoras

Music educators can serve as the guide to a students’ self discovery and foster their connection to the culture of others, in their own community and across the globe, through the opportunities cultivated in the classroom. I will explore how to craft enriching musical experiences that engage students in the culture beneath the music and present strategies on how to facilitate mindful discussions that lead to a depth of knowledge and self reflection. I discuss developing folklife curriculum that can span the course of a students’ education: how it can be approached, revisited and scaffolded upon for a deeper understanding over time.

395 Facilitating Cultural Connections between Artists and Students 2:30 PM – 3:00 PM EDT Roswell

Avalon Nemec

Educators are invested in bringing new experiences to students; music educators might aim to do this by incorporating music from various cultures into their classrooms. However, it is sometimes more culturally sensitive to offer the classroom as a platform for artists/cultural experts to share their firsthand knowledge and musical experiences. What does it mean to facilitate a welcoming classroom environment where students without a particular cultural experience can engage respectfully with an artist who might not have traditional classroom experience? I offer anecdotal experiences about working with artists in a public K-8 setting, and practical advice for music educators who wish to enhance student learning by inviting community artists to teach.

226 Concert Themes: An Invitation for Cross-Cultural Comparison 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT Roswell

Lisa Stein

When music educators choose a theme for a school concert with repertoire from diverse musical traditions, they are naturally creating an invitation for students to engage in cross-cultural comparison. However, the deeper layers of cultural engagement often remain untouched. Folklife education provides a framework for students to examine their own cultures in order to more meaningfully engage with music from other cultures. In this paper, I explore strategies for choosing a concert theme, selecting diverse repertoire, and delving deeper into each cultural world to create a more nuanced understanding of the traditions and worldviews that shape music across diverse cultures.

 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025

04-09 Rethinking Folklore and Pedagogy 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EDT Roswell

Maria Kennedy, Azadeh Najafian, — Frog

257 Using Folklore as a Tool for Teaching Farsi as a Second Language: A Case Study 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM EDT Roswell

Azadeh Najafian

Teaching languages is one of the most complicated subjects. However, when teaching a less commonly used language as a second language is the case, the situation gets more complicated. Farsi/Persian is a relatively new language for American students. Farsi is an old language with a derivative structure and many syntactic and lexical exceptions. Additionally, the word pronunciation makes it even more challenging to learn or even connect with. My paper will focus on the use of different genres ‌of folklore in Farsi language classes to facilitate students’ mastery of language skills. With specific applied examples, I will illustrate how these genres can be used in an interactive classroom setting.

266 ‘Pedagogy of Resistance’: Explorations of a Phenomenon 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM EDT Roswell

— Frog

The term ‘pedagogy of resistance’ was used by David M. Carr (2005) to describe the adaptation of writing technologies from a dominant culture to serve ancient Hebrew religion and collective identity. The present paper abstracts ‘pedagogy of resistance’ as the phenomenon of adapting technologies, paradigms, and infrastructures of a dominant culture with pedagogical aims of impacting the understanding and evaluation of a particular tradition, group, culture, or group of cultures. Cases considered include the Hebrew Bible, vernacular mythology in medieval Iceland, 17th-century Iceland, and Elias Lönnrot’s Kalevala (1849), briefly also considering heritage-construction projects today.

362 Podcast Pedagogy: Media and Oral Storytelling in the Classroom 9:30 AM – 10:00 AM EDT Roswell

Maria Kennedy

I propose “Podcast Pedagogy” as a unique opportunity to explore the theoretical riches of oral storytelling, oral history, sound recording and archiving, and media literacy in an undergraduate university classroom. While podcasts are increasingly used in the classroom as media content, and sometimes used as alternative assignments for traditional papers, creating a full pedagogy that introduces students to theories of oral culture and sound, and that creates structured opportunities to break down the writing, production, and performance process are rare. This paper explores how the creation of sound-based research, writing, and storytelling can be integrated into classroom settings, through the development of a podcast course at Rutgers University.

 

05-05 Rethinking Family and Folklore 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EDT Sky Salon

606 Uprooted, ReGrounded and Growing 11:15 AM – 11:30 PM EDT Sky Salon

Dr. Octavia Fugerson Brewington

The story of disconnected youth in America; such as those with experience with foster care, homelessness, adjudication, or migration is often seen in a deficit- too often associated with poor outcomes such as: housing instability, lack of social capital, and limited access to resources. The author (2018) exerts an anti-deficit perspective and explores their strengths, competencies, values, resources, and supports of the vulnerable population. Uprooted, ReGrounded and Growing was presented in the conflict resolution setting as peace education(2023). It was intended to de-escalate threats to vulnerable families with complex situations by equipping permanency mediators with knowledge of talent identification and development.

 

05-08 Folklore in Education Today: Methods and Tools in Action 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EDT  Peachtree

Paddy Bowman, Kennedi Johnson, Mira Johnson, Taylor Dooley Burden, Claire Denny

Sponsored by Folklore and Education Section

We know stories have the power to shape our collective understanding of place, time, and belonging. How do we harness that power to help learners and educators alike recognize the value of their own communities’ stories? In this session, a new generation of folklore in education practitioners share their distinctive ways of working with educators, artists, and students. Presenters’ projects illuminate the value of a folkloristic, ethnographic approach to education, from sense of place to assumptions about students, material culture to celebrations. Expect hands-on engagement and new ideas to try in your learning environments..

 

228 07-12 Teaching in Thorny Times 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM EDT Sky Board Room

Thomas McKean, Mary Sellers

Sponsored by Folklore and Education Section

Our world seems to be increasingly precarious. From Covid-19 to political and social turmoil, students and educators alike having been feeling stress, anxiety, and despair for years. How can we help our students? How can we help ourselves as teachers? This workshop will focus on how educators (K-12 and higher education) can use folklore (storytelling, community, crafts, games, and more) to adapt assignments for students who are affected during this time of change and fear. It will be a space to voice concerns, ask questions, and develop practical activities and assignments that will work in the classroom.

 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2025

08-03 From One Body to Another: The Transmission of Physical and Cultural Knowledge and the Stories We Share  8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EDT Sky West 

Daniela Nyberg, Amy Mills, Katherine Borland, Daniela Ivanova-Nyberg

504 Just Tell Me How To Do It Right: Adventures in Social Dance Teaching for Beginners 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM EDT Sky West 

Amy Mills

Raised in a family of avid social dancers, public folklorist Amy Mills learned as much from others on the dance floor as in formal dance classes. Her mother’s offhand remark – “get your generation dancing” – became a life goal. She soon realized how different that process would be from her own experience. How do you teach beginners in a culture that doesn’t dance? Drawing on insights from social dance teachers and her own experiences teaching cowboys, college students, folk dancers and physicists, she explores the core assumptions and adaptive strategies that help newcomers get moving in community with joy and confidence.

495 The Stories Behind Bulgarian Dance Teaching and Learning in U.S. Bulgarian Diasporic Communities: What Do They Reveal?  9:30 AM – 10:00 AM Sky West

Daniela Ivanova-Nyberg

Since the early 21st century, Bulgarian cultural centers and schools in the United States have played a pivotal role in transmitting Bulgarian dance traditions. Initially centered on social dance, instruction gradually evolved into performance-oriented training, shaping new artistic expressions within the diaspora. This study examines the transformation of Bulgarian dance pedagogy through the perspectives of teachers, dancers, and audiences. It explores the shift from social to staged performance, the cultural influences shaping these presentations, and the symbolic meanings embedded in dancing in traditional costumes. These narratives reveal deeper insights into cultural continuity, adaptation, and identity within Bulgarian diasporic communities.

 

08-08 Remaking Community through Storying and Restorying 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EDT Peachtree

514 Local Stories Matter: Collaborative Storytelling  9:38 AM – 10:00 AM EDT Peachtree

Alli Crandell

Over the past decade, The Athenaeum Press at Coastal Carolina University has collaborated with community and student partners to create stories, from museum exhibits to publications. Our topics range from homelessness to Gullah Geechee spirituals, always centering the originating communities in the exploration of narratives. Students gain practical experience and insights into topics and production methods; community members gain storytelling vehicles and, often, long-term partnerships. This paper will provide two project case studies and the pedagogical model(s) of a publishing lab that allow for project-based storytelling involving and surrounding regional subcultures. Local stories matter, how do we tell it?

 

11-05 Putting Music to Uses New and Old  3:15 PM – 4:45 PM EDT Sky Salon

Joe Kinzer, Marion Jacobson, Emily Allen

336 Fast, Cheap and Out of B-Roll: Filling in Musicians’ Missing Stories with ‘Artist Profile’ Videos  3:45 PM – 4:15 PM EDT Sky Salon 

Sponsored by Folklore and Education Section

Marion Jacobson

The World Music in the Schools (WMIS) Residency brings traditional artists to New Jersey K-12 band, chorus and general music classrooms to support the students in connecting with their own cultural heritage and that of surrounding communities through musical exploration. We designed the Artist Self Introduction video project to identify and fill in the artists’ missing “stories” to present to students and teachers ahead of the classroom visits. I I will describe some unexpected challenges and share insights into how to improve the process, engage students and support the artists in their self-documentation journey.

344 Collaborative Podcasting as Public Musicology 4:15 PM – 4:15 PM EDT Sky Salon

Emily Allen

This paper explores collaborative podcasting as an effective tool for public musicology, enabling musicologists to engage wider audiences. By examining case studies from the author’s work on the New Books Network (NBN) and Take on the South (TOTS), the paper highlights how podcasting fosters collaboration in both scholarly and classroom settings. It discusses the potential of podcasting for ethnographic fieldwork, training musicologists in podcast production, and expanding public outreach. The paper also addresses the challenges of collaboration, such as logistical issues and audience engagement, while emphasizing the role of podcasting in enhancing the accessibility and impact of musicological scholarship.

 

11-10 Orality, Aurality, Performance, and Folklore in Medieval and Early Modern Texts  3:15 PM – 4:45 PM EDT Lenox

Charlotte Artese, Heather Hoyt, Lindsay Mapes, Judith Lanzendorfer

Verbal folklore is at the heart of three of the best-known texts of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales and Hamlet recall traditional modes of narrative, incantation, and the acoustic aspects of verse performance. This panel considers the oral and aural experience of both Beowulf and Bea Wolf, a recent adaptation for children; the courtly and popular storytelling audiences of The Canterbury Tales; and how Ophelia’s distribution of flowers echoes the repetitions found in an Old English herbal charm. By invoking folk practices, these literary works reflect their oral and traditional origins.

271 The Saga of Bea Wolf: A Retelling of Beowulf for Children 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM EDT Lenox 

Heather Hoyt

Bea Wolf, is a graphic retelling of the Old English poem, Beowulf, from the perspective of children. This presentation discusses Bea Wolf’s imitation of the language, characterization, and action of Beowulf, while using humor to appeal to children. Although the book is illustrated, it’s better read aloud. The author, Zach Weinersmith stays true to the rhythm and syntax of Beowulf. Some critics assert children will have difficulty understanding the text. However, this presentation argues that hearing Bea Wolf read aloud can make it accessible. Maximizing understanding of both Bea Wolf and Beowulf hinges on oral and aural experience of them.

 

214 State of the Field – Folklore in Higher Education. AFS Fellows Utley Lecture Plenary Session 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM Georgia Ballroom

Robert Baron, David Puglia, Rachel Gonzalez-Martin, Lisa Gilman, Cory Thorne Gutierrez, Jeana Jorgensen

Folklore Studies lives in a wide variety of higher education settings. While there are now fewer graduate programs, folklorists teach in other departments one way or another. They teach folklore courses or infuse it within other classes, as full time or contingent faculty. The programs remaining address sustainability challenges and incorporate the academic profession and public practice. Universities that discontinued programs have faculty teaching folklore in other ways. Folklorists occupying diverse positions will discuss how they maintain and expand folklore’s foothold while addressing challenges distinctive to folklore and shared broadly in academe. Exploring advances and challenges will open vistas for understanding the landscape of folklore studies in colleges and universities.

330 Folklore in the Community College: Teaching, Research, and Institutional Sustainability 5:00 PM Georgia Ballroom

David Puglia

Community colleges provide an ideal yet often overlooked setting for folklorists to teach, research, and engage with diverse student populations. Emphasizing accessibility and local engagement, two-year institutions align with folklore’s democratic ethos while presenting challenges in curricular sustainability, disciplinary visibility, and institutional support. This presentation explores strategies for infusing folklore into non-folklore courses, leveraging community connections for research, and navigating folkloristic careers within a teaching-centered environment. Drawing from my ten-year experience at a community college, I argue that folklorists can thrive in these institutions while strengthening folklore’s presence in higher education through innovative pedagogy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and public-facing scholarship.

373 Rethinking How We Think: Mentoring through Variants 5:17 PM Georgia Ballroom

Rachel Gonzalez-Martin

This paper offers commentary on the state of the field from the perspective of mentoring strategies working with and supporting a growing population of neurodivergent students. Student self-identification and official diagnoses of non-neurotypical learning traits require that educators rescript our mentoring practices while also transfiguring our own priorities as intellectual gatekeepers in higher education. Focusing on the context of a large public university in the south, where the field of folklore does not hold programmatic or departmental status, this contribution will consider: How can a focus on variants help us better serve the collective body of contemporary student populations?

216 Folklore Studies as a Model: Pedagogy, Research, and Professionalization through On- and Off-Campus Collaborations 5:34 PM Georgia Ballroom

Lisa Gilman

The scholarly basis of folklore studies combined with its application across different spheres (academic, public sector folklore, community-based work, social services, and policy-making) offer a model in United States higher education, especially the humanities. A strength of our field are the strong networks among ourselves, which bolster our ability to develop innovative and effective collaborations. Though strained from the lack of graduate funding, George Mason University’s folklore program takes advantage of its geographic location near Washington DC to create opportunities for partnerships within and outside the university that benefit students in the program as well as bolster the institution’s mission.

388 Stealth Folklore: Their Objectives, Our Content 6:08 PM Georgia Ballroom

Jeana Jorgensen

Many folklorists find themselves affiliated with non-folklore programs, but problems of disciplinary identity and continuation intensify when a folklorist is also a contingent lecturer or adjunct. Thus it is important for contingent folklorists in academia to be prepared to introduce folklore into the classroom in dynamic ways that reveal how vital it is to the learning goals of a variety of course types and disciplines. In core curriculum courses in particular, folklore materials can shine as we introduce folklore content, theories, and methods in novel ways that can integrate seamlessly with course objectives created without folklore in mind.


 

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2025 VIRTUAL MEETING

63 Meet the Editors: Demystifying the Journal Publishing Process 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM EST Virtual Session Room 2

Danille Christensen, Sheila Bock, Paddy Bowman, Lisa Rathje, Timothy Thurston, Solimar Otero, Robert Guyker, Jr., Norma E. Cantú, Coppélie Cocq, Tim Frandy, Lisa Gabbert, Shelley Ingram, Lorraine Walsh Cashman.

The editors of the Journal of American Folklore, Journal of Folklore Research, Western Folklore, Narrative Culture, Cultural Analysis, Contemporary Legend, and the Journal of Folklore and Education are hosting this session to demystify the process of publishing in an academic journal. We will discuss the foci and missions of each journal, when to consider submitting, how to prepare a manuscript for submission, what happens after you submit, and what happens after acceptance. We invite students, junior scholars/professionals, and anyone who would benefit from learning about the process. We especially encourage colleagues of color and/or those working in DEI areas of study to join in the discussion.