Women have always been central to the study and practice of folklore, arts and cultural traditions - as tradition bearers, performers, authors, collectors, storytellers and scholars. However, their contribution hasn’t always received the recognition it deserves; this symposium aims to redress the balance. We are inviting 20-minute papers/presentations and A1 poster presentations on relevant topics, which may include:



• Singers, dancers, musicians, storytellers, and other performance roles

• Performance styles, repertoire and source

• Facilitators, revivals and teaching

• Contributions to scholarship

• Legacies and archives

• Gender relations in folk cultures

• Life narratives, autoethnographies, biographies, and oral histories

• Depictions of women as subject matter in song and story

• Portrayals of women, gender roles, and identity

• Perspectives on the future for women in ‘the folk’



We welcome applications from all levels within academia, as well as from independent researchers, writers and enthusiasts.



Please send proposals of 250 words, a short biography, and the mode of presentation (paper, presentation, poster) to lizzie.bennett@sussextraditions.org by January

​26​th 2018.


This conference is co-presented by Sussex Traditions, The Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research (University of Sussex), and The English Folk Dance & Song Society, and supported by The Centre for Memories, Narratives and Histories (Brighton University), and Sussex University’s Music Department.