Folklore and Protest Special Issue “Folklore and Protest”: Call for Papers

 

 

Folklorica, the peer-reviewed Journal of the Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Folklore Association, is accepting submissions for a thematic issue “Folklore and Protest.”

 

Whether expressing disapproval or advocating for change, protests are integral parts of contemporary political processes. They can vary in size, form, and scope, range from peaceful to violent, and represent a number of positions on various political spectrums. Political protest has become a critical public manifestation of discontent in Eastern Europe and Eurasia today. Among the most recent examples are the abortion protests in Poland, the Armenian demonstrations over Nagorno-Karabakh, marches objecting to Alexei Navalny’s detention in Russia, and the ongoing unrest in Belarus opposing the Lukashenko regime.

 

We invite folklorists and scholars of related disciplines to reflect on the folklore of protest in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. What role does folklore play in communicating political concerns? What creative forms and expressive strategies, traditional or new, do protesters employ? How can a folkloristic perspective, rooted in contextual nuances and insider voices, contribute to a better understanding of protests? What positions—ranging from relatively neutral observation and documentation to active political engagement—do folklorists envision for themselves in particular protest contexts and why?

 

We invite standard research articles and shorter reflective pieces engaging with both historical sources and recent ethnographic or archival material. Comparative studies focusing on protests in the region of Folklorica’s purview and their counterparts in other parts of the world are welcome as well.

The journal also invites submissions concerned with a wide range of other topics and focusing on any area within Eastern Europe or Eurasia, or the diasporic experience of groups who hail from those locations. Submissions may deal with folklore theory, fieldwork findings, the epistemic history of folklore and ethnology research, ethnomusicology, digital cultures, and other related topics. They may also take the form of shorter field reports.

We welcome 250-word proposals/abstracts by May 1, 2021 and completed submissions by August 1, 2021 for inclusion in the thematic issue. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Folklorica’s Editor, Dr. Jeanmarie Rouhier-Willoughby (j.rouhier@uky.edu), or the guest co-editor, Dr. Mariya Lesiv (mlesiv@mun.ca). 

 

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