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We champion folk music and dance at the heart of cultural life, all across England. Can you support the folk arts with a donation today?

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We champion folk music and dance at the heart of cultural life, all across England. Can you support the folk arts with a donation today?

Give now

Support our work

We champion folk music and dance at the heart of cultural life, all across England. Can you support the folk arts with a donation today?

Give now
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Library Conference 2021

Tuesday 14th of September 2021

This page was last updated on 15 November 2021. 

The annual conference of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library concentrated on racial and ethnic diversity, both historically focused and in contemporary discourse.

The conference took place on Saturday 13 November 2021 and was a hybrid event, with speakers and delegates both online and in the building at Cecil Sharp House.

It focused on racial diversity in folk, combining historical discourse and the contemporary scene. In retaining an online option post-lockdowns we hope to welcome people from across the world, creating a forum for lively debate across boundaries on this crucial theme.

Papers included

  • The Black origins of sea shanties
  • How to Increase and Diversify Participation in English Folk Clubs?
  • International Relations: Nationalism and Internationalism in the English Folk Dance Revival
  • The Sorrow Songs: Folk Songs of Black British Experience
  • Racial crosscurrents in Appalachian folk song
  • Celebrating Diversity – Applications of Folklore to Shared Society Education within the Conflict Situation of the Middle East
  • Folk purism, the enemy of diversity

Download the full PDF programme

The papers presented at this conference were submitted by independent researchers. Interpretations and opinions expressed reflected the personal opinions of the speakers, and must not be taken to represent formal policy of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Indeed, in some cases the speakers' presentations may have directly conflicted with the organisation's views and approach to the crucial issues of diversity in folk music and dance today.

Photo: Folk Dance Remixed, associate company of the English Folk Dance and Song Society

 





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English Folk Dance and Song Society, Cecil Sharp House, 2 Regent’s Park Road, London NW1 7AY, UK.
Tel: 020 7485 2206 | Email: [email protected] | Registered charity number 305999
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Supported by Arts Council England