American Folklore Society Annual Meeting And Conference

The American Folklore Society Annual Meeting and Conference is set to take place at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina. This significant event will gather nearly 900 professionals from folklore studies and related fields, encompassing participants from academic, public, and private institutions. The gathering will focus on the theme of 'Community Persistence: Reckoning with Change, Imagining Futures,' exploring how displaced communities carry their stories, songs, foodways, craft traditions, and visions with them. The meeting will delve into various expressions of folklore as therapy, labor, and social production, emphasizing tradition's value in navigating constant displacement.Participants will engage in discussions about the role of material culture as both anchor and archive, where artifacts such as quilts, instruments, tools, and buildings serve to hold memory and offer continuity. The meeting will also tackle the dynamics of digital spaces in fostering diasporic connections and cultural transmission, while raising critical questions concerning authenticity and the commodification of community narratives. Attendees will have the opportunity to explore counter-narratives that challenge dominant stories about belonging and envisioning futures for changing communities. Furthermore, the act of persistence will be highlighted through themes of rebuilding, maintaining marginalized languages, and cultivating land amidst growing challenges. The event promises a rich engagement with various modes of expression and practices in folklore, inviting participants to contribute to these vital conversations.