The international training course for the study of folklore and traditional culture, Folklore Fellows’ Summer School, will be held on August 2-14 1993, at Turku University, Finland. The deadline for the applications, October 31, 1992, is approaching, which is why we would like to refresh your memory, and give you an update.

The training course is open to both established and younger scholars, university teachers, and archivists in folklore institutes and elsewhere. The recruitment for the course is global, but we regret the fact that as a rule, the travel costs will have to be paid by the participants. Even the participation fee (USD 400) is payable by the participant. For both of these expenses, it is possible to apply for a travel grant from FFSS at a later date, but we strongly encourage the applicants to seek funds from their country of origin.

The second FFSS will focus its theoretical discussions and practical exercises on tradition and renewal in the folklore process. The theme encompasses all the aspects of a dichotomy central in folklore: variation and stability of folklore forms and meanings, permanence and permutation in traditions and their cultural uses. The stress on the dual aspects of continuity and change in folklore has its consequences for the praxis of folkloristics. The methodological challenge offered by new folkloric forms and new ways of conceptualizing the old, be they urban, regional or ethnic, has to be met both on the level of research techniques and on the level of questioning the nature and politics of folklore research, fieldwork, documentation and archiving.

The program for the course includes lectures, but the stress is on group work, fieldwork and documentation exercises, and discussions. The participants will be divided into five groups that will focus on (1) Performance and meaning, (2) Rituals and womens’ studies, (3) History, folklore and local identity, and (4) Documentation techniques (rapport and ethics), respectively. The topic for the fifth group is still open. At this stage, the list of lecturers includes Barbara Babcock (“Tradition and the Politics of Reproduction”), Charles L. Briggs (“Traditions and Texts in Folkloristic Fieldwork”), Jawaharlal Handoo, Galit Hasan-Rokem, and Barbro Klein. The list is still growing. The groups will be lead partly by the lecturers, partly by folklorists of the hosting country.

We would like to see Your applications at Your earliest convenience. The group work will be intensive, and active involvement by the participants is expected even before the course, when the group leaders will correspond with the participants. To make the groups work, we need to know more about your interests, experience, and technical qualifications. So please, mail Your application and the mini-essay in good time.

There is further information on the Summer School and how to apply in FF Network No. 4, May 1992, but in case you have any inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us. The address for the applications and inquiries is

FF Summer School
P.O. Box 14
FIN-20501 Turku
FINLAND

Lotte Tarkka
Course Secretary

(FFN 5, August 1992: 3)

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