2023 Folklore Society of Utah Conference Saturday, November 18th
Brigham Young University CampusJoseph Fielding Smith Building (JFSB) Floor 4, Room: 4188Provo, Utah 84604See: Campus Map
See: Conference Program
Questions: 801.793.4966 folkloresocietyofutah@outlook.com2023 FSU Conference Registration
Click to register for the Folklore Society of Utah 2023 Conference at Brigham Young University Campus in Provo, Utah.
Folklore Society of Utah 2023 Conference, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah
8-8:45am Breakfast and Mingle
Session One
9:00-10:00
The Supernatural: Legends, Belief, and Vernacular Religion
Chair: Christine Elyse Blythe
“Expressions of the Vampire in Modern American Culture,” Logan Johnson
“Latter-Day Saint Skinwalker Lore as Contemporary Parables,” Zachary Wright
“The Folk Healing of Lorenzo Argyle,” Katie Diehl
“The Naked Dead: Legends of Latter-day Saint Burial,” Christopher Blythe
Session Two
10:10-10:55
Representation & the Folklore of Belonging
Chair: Afsane Rezaei
“Plastic Constructs: Changing Depictions of Human Difference in the LEGO Minifigure,” Drake Hansen
“The Impact of Names on Identity: How the Folklore of Names Creates and Maintains a Just World,” Kate Christiansen
“Congolese Folklore,” Micah Eastwood
Session Three
11:05-11:55
Foodways on the Ground and in the Classroom
Chair: Eric Eliason
“‘Good Old Times’ or ‘Damned Hard Times?’: Collaborative Subsistence Farming in Early Latter-day Saint Communities and Why We in the 21st Century Should Care About It,” Denise Jamsa
“Teaching Foodways: Merging the Personal and the Political,” Afsane Rezaei
“Frugal Feasting: Lingering Inheritances from the Great Depression,” Melanie Kimball
11:55-1:05 FSU Lunch Break @ BYU, The Commons & Foodways Trivia
Keynote Lecture
1:20-2:20
“A Mormon, Jack Mormon, and Gentile Meet in a Bar (to share frysauce…)”
Carol Edison PhD (Director of the Folk Arts Program of the Utah Art Council, retired), Lynne McNeil PhD (Utah State University), and Eric Eliason PhD (Brigham Young University)
Session Four
2:30-3:15
Literature, Music & Emotions
Chair: Denise Jamsa
‘“Angel of the Prairies:” A case study in the Misinterpretation of an Early Mormon Utopia,” Rachel Helps
“The Emotional Impact of the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus,” Caroline McDonald
“Falling from the Tree: The Apple Bite, Modern Myth, and Musicality,” Rachel Alger
Session Five
3:25-4:10
Folklore and Folk Groups of the Latter-day Saint Community
Chair: Deanna
“The Primary Answers Reimagined: ADHD Latter-day Saint Interpretations of Scripture Study, Personal Prayer, and Performing Reverence,” Allie Rawlings & Brittney Hatchett
“Sisters would never do anything this stupid”: How Policy Shapes the Stereotypes of LDS Sister Missionaries,” Eve Dixon
“Sister Missionaries: Accounts of Malevolent Supernatural Encounters,” Paulee Shakespear
Session Six
4:20-5:20
Food and Games
Chair: Nan McEntire
“Boiling down Complexity: Police and Crime in a City Simulator," Samuel Rowles
“You Grill Girl!: Complicating Food Content with Counter-Hegemonic Food TikToks,” Drew Holley
“Folklore and Pokemon,” Sidney Gant
“Revival of the Waffle Frolic,” Emma Dunn
2023 FSU Conference CFP
This year the conference theme explores food as an integral part of folklife. We are interested in how food is prepared, stored, served, eaten, explained, etc. Papers might examine the place of food in fairytales (Hansel and Gretel), conspiracy theory (poisoned candy at Halloween), the place of food in festivals (King Cake at Mardi Gras,) or the rise of tutorials on traditional/regional cooking on YouTube.
As always, we invite papers on all topics related to folklore (including those outside of Utah). If you are working on a project on contemporary legend, folk song, vernacular religion, ethnography, etc., we would be eager to receive your proposal.
For consideration, email a 300-word abstract to folkloresocietyofutah@outlook.com no later than October 30, 2023. Include your full name, affiliation, and title of your talk.
REGISTRATION
This years conference will be hybrid with in-person and online sessions broadcast from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.
What are table talks?
Table talks are informal presentations. They are casual group conversations about one's work (whether recently completed or still in-progress) that might involve any or all of the following: a brief introductory statement, props, books, transcript segments, photos/images, video/audio clips, posters, handouts, or demonstrations.
Traditionally, Table Talk sessions are divided into roughly 20-minute segments, and audience members will circulate from table to table, visiting with different speakers during each segment.
However, in concern for those who would like to participate in person, but are otherwise unable to due to health, financial, or other personal factors, the Folklore Society of Utah will be holding a hybrid event that combines live in-person sessions with a virtual online component. The informal structure of the table talks will remain a key feature of each session, but presenters will participate in traditional conference panels. While we hope circumstances permit a large in-person attendance, we also realize that this year’s hybrid model will allow for greater inclusivity.
Why Table Talks?
The Folklore Society of Utah's annual meeting has long been one of the best opportunities in the Intermountain West for folklorists to convene, network, collaborate, and just hang out together in a small, intimate professional setting. In order to further this unique role that the Society plays in the folklore community, the annual meetings are now being organized with an eye toward promoting opportunities for collaboration and collegiality.
According to member feedback, one of the best ways that this has taken place in recent years is through Table Talk presentations, where everyone's work--whether public or academic, student or professional, completed or in progress--can be shared, presented, and discussed. The FSU Board believes these Table Talks embody the spirit of the organization and make a unique contribution to the range of professional meetings available in the field of Folklore Studies. FSU's TableTalk format strengthens the folklore community by making sure we all get the chance to learn about and support each other's research and projects.
Submit a Proposal
To submit a proposal please email a 300-word abstract, including your full name, affiliation and title of your talk, to the folkloresocietyofutah@outlook.com by October 15th.
Folklore Society of Utah 2022 Conference at Westminster University
Watch: FOLKLORE SOCIETY OF UTAH 2021 CONFERENCE
Click the link above to watch recorded sessions of the 2021 conference held on November 12th and 13th at Utah State University.
Friday Conference Program: PDF
Saturday Conference Program: PDF