'Folklore on the Move' The Folklore Society’s Annual Conference 2026

Date 5 June 2026 - 10 June 2026

Location King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

Folklore on the Move

The Folklore Society’s Annual Conference 2026, in collaboration with the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen

In Person: Friday 5 June, from 14:00, to Sunday 7 June, 13:00, at The Elphinstone Institute, MacRobert Building, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, Scotland

And Online: Wednesday 10th June 2026.

The vitality of folklore depends on the movement of people and/or ideas. Some forms of folklore can be defined directly through their relations to movement, whether practically – e.g. certain cultural forms of Roma and Traveller communities, migrants, showpeople, sailors, etc. – or performed, e.g. tales of years-long quests, ballads of departure, or myths whose characters move between supernatural and physical realms. We can also consider the movement of individual items: a lullaby moves intimately from one generation to another; an online meme is sent to thousands via social media; a tag is spray-painted across a city; dance steps are called from the stage as partners and groups move around the floor.

The movement of disciplinary ideas and methodologies and how these have shaped Folklore and adjacent fields is worthy of contemplation, as well. More specifically, the connection between folklore and movement has interested folklorists going back at least to Julius Krohn’s historic-geographic method, which attempted to track the movement of folklore across place and time. Later, Reidar Christiansen pointed to the migratory nature of legends, while Carl von Sydow reminded us of the cultural changes that folklore undergoes as it moves, and Linda Dégh considered the ‘conduits’ of interest that are necessary for the sharing of folklore.

At a time when folklore and related symbols have been co-opted by some to delineate stringent identity boundaries, the Elphinstone Institute and The Folklore Society are pleased to work together to highlight the movement of folklore and the interconnectedness of people. This is not to imply that all folklore is benevolent, nor to neglect the movement inherent to the discipline’s problematic colonial histories. We hope to encourage nuanced discussions of folklore and movement through a variety of lenses and from a wide range of participants.

PROGRAMME COMING SOON

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN! Click here to download the booking form

Conference fees:

In-Person: £150 GBP Standard Rate; £100 Folklore Society Member Rate; £80: Reduced Rate (Student/Unwaged/Low Earner); £30: University of Aberdeen Staff/Students.

Day Rates are also available (see booking form).

In-person fees include refreshments between sessions, and lunch on Saturday 6th, as well as free access to the online day of the conference on 10 June.

Online participants:  £40.00 Flat Rate

Accommodation is not included in the conference fee 

Image: ‘The Wayfarer’ by Hieronymus Bosch