ISLAND DYNAMICS
Collaborating Partners
Department of Folklore & Ethnomusicology, Indiana University
Island Dynamics Conference on
Folk Belief and Traditions of the Supernatural
Experience, Place, Ritual, and Narrative
25‒30 March 2014, Unst & Lerwick, Shetland, UK
The mystery of the mysterious.
This folklore conference will explore past and present supernatural traditions worldwide, focusing on how they relate to experience, place, ritual, and narrative.
Throughout history, scholars and laypeople have theorised on supernatural experience. Europeans have debated, for example, whether fairies should be identified as demons, Jungian archetypes, symbols of nature, a race of humans, childhood bogeymen, or liminality made manifest. Is precognition a blessing, curse, delusion, or ransfer of spiritual energy? What about encounters with ghosts, gods, aliens, monsters, or the Virgin Mary? How comparable are traditions from different cultures? Where do we draw the line between religion, folk belief, science, and entertainment?
Innovative conference format.
From the evening of 25 March to the afternoon of 28 March, we will be based at remote
and windswept cottages on the island of Unst, where we will speak with tradition
bearers and visit sites of local legend. We will spend the last two nights in Shetland’s
main town of Lerwick, where delegates will give academic presentations. Throughout
the event, delegates will prepare and dine on locally produced food. The events of
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Attendance & call for papers.
Attendance is limited to around 20 delegates, accepted on a first-
Expressions are interest are welcome, but you must register to save a place at the event. Write to convenor Adam Grydehøj at agrydehoj@islanddynamics.org to learn more.