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 “Charming and Crafty: Witchcraft and Paganism in Contemporary Media,” the Committee on Degrees in Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University is pleased to present a two-day colloquium on folklore and its uses and contexts within contemporary pagan culture. Abstracts are sought which address the following topics (other 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 “authenticity” in pagan
culture
5. Contemporary pagan media and folklore
6. “Creative” 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 presentations. Individual sessions will be twenty minutes including questions. Please submit abstracts of no more than 250 words by February 23rd, 2007. Email submissions are preferred.

Please direct any questions or submissions to Hannah Johnston and Peg Aloi at: charmingcrafty_at_aol.com.

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