Call for Papers: American Folklore Society (Medieval and Early Modern Folklore Section)

Long Beach, California. October 14-17
Abstracts due Mar. 25, 2015

I invite all interested scholars to propose papers for panels sponsored by the Medieval and Early Modern Folklore section of the American Folklore Society, to be presented at the Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California (Oct. 14-17, 2015). We are organizing two panels at this year's meeting:
1) Making Merry in the Medieval and Early Modern Period: Food and festivals set the calendar for life in the Medieval and Early Modern period. Even today, reenactments and other forms of medievalism place great importance on the recreation of foods, the invention of new culinary traditions, and creating a festive atmosphere. Papers addressing historical and modern research into food and festival are welcome.
2) Open Topics: Encountering the Early Masters. We are very interested in papers regarding early encounters with texts and lore, including teaching methodologies and interdisciplinary approaches to Folklore, History, and Literature.
The theme for the conference this year is "Ecologies, Encounters, and Enactments." (http://www.afsnet.org/?2015AM1) but papers may deal with any aspect of medieval or early modern folklore.
Please send BOTH the short abstract (100 words) AND the long abstract (300) for your 15-20-minute paper to Kerry Kaleba at kerry.kaleba@gmail.com by March 25, 2015. I will also need to submit your institutional affiliation (or status as an independent scholar), and presentation title to AFS. Please include an e-mail address or a phone number where you can be reached before March 31. If your proposal is accepted, you will need to complete and submit the AFS online registration form for a participant in an organized panel at www.afsnet.org by March 31, 2015.
American Folklore Society
Mershon Center
The Ohio State University
1501 Neil Avenue
Columbus OH 43201-2602 USA