CFP: Reworking Folklore in Sound, Stage and Screen
The Creative Arts Research Centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology is pleased to welcome
applications to present at a symposium on the theme of reworking in Irish folklore, which will take
place in person at the School of Informatics and Creative Arts on Thursday 1 December 2022.
The reworking of Irish folklore is a process that surrounds us every day, coming to define how our
communities speak, write, sing, and dance. For centuries, the constant rejuvenation and reinvention of
these customs, what Lauri Honko calls folklore’s “second life”, has been fuelled by the shifting social
and political environment of Ireland. The diverse works of poets, singers, stage writers, filmmakers,
archivists, and lawmakers contribute to a cultural landscape that never remains static. In an age when
new technologies allow these traditions to reach fresh audiences, transformed in ways never seen
before, an understanding of reworking has never been so pertinent to the study of Irish folk culture.
Wishing to bring together new perspectives on Irish folk heritage, this symposium invites papers from
researchers in all disciplines that engage with the history and reinterpretation of folklore.
Presentations from all (inter)disciplinary fields are invited, including visual art and filmmaking, radio,
stage, music, literature, and tourism. Topics for discussion might include, but are not limited to the
reworking and representation of folktales and mythology, historical customs, oral tradition, and local
beliefs in:
- Film and animation
- Music, rhyme, and ballads
- Theatre performance and dance traditions
- Literary fiction and poetry
- Computer games and AR/VR technologies
Abstract submissions of a maximum 250 words, along with your name and the name of your
group/organisation/institution, should be sent via email to carc@dkit.ie in an attached file by 28
October 2022. All informal inquiries can be sent to Luke Malone and Daithí Kearney at carc@dkit.ie.
We are delighted to be welcoming Dr Susan Motherway, Munster Technological University, co-editor
of the recently published Staged Folklore, The National Folk Theatre of Ireland 1968-1998 with
Professor John O’Connell to present a keynote paper.