Schedule/Recordings

• Executive Board
• (closed meeting)

The Association of Western States Folklorists (AWSF) is an informal group of public folklorists, anthropologists, community scholars, students, ethnomusicologists, and anyone doing public folklore-related work across the Western United States. It began meeting in 1981 in Logan, Utah, with NEA support for the first two years. The group continued to meet annually in Logan, in conjunction with Utah State University’s Fife Folklore Conference, until 1993, when meetings began to move around the region, and WESTAF (now Creative West) hired Elaine Thatcher as folk arts coordinator and provided funding and logistical support. Its accomplishments include the establishment of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, NV. The last in-person meeting was held in Eugene, Oregon, in 2017, with communications continuing digitally in the interim. For AWSF’s first in-person convening since then, we will be spending time discussing the future of AWSF and whether to begin in-person meetings again. We will also be discussing our digital efforts at forming community as well as the key issues faced by public folklorists and the communities we work with in the West. We will feature a special session on disability as culture with Alisha Vasquez of the Southwest Folklife Alliance and will be given the opportunity to attend the Participatory Action Research workshop led by Selina Morales, Nelda Ruiz, Leia Maahs, and the Southwest Folklife Alliance. Whether it’ll be your tenth or first time joining the group, you’re welcome to join us for this pre-conference session. We encourage everyone to register in advance at: https://tinyurl.com/awsf2024register . Limited financial support is available to those who need an extra night’s lodging to attend thanks to support from the American Folklore Society and Creative West. Explore additional resources for the pre-conference here .

• Public Programs
• Disability
• Networks, Grants, and Other Resources
• Pre-register or Ticket

Come pick up your name badge and commemorative notebook at the registration desk when you arrive!

• Global Storm
• Local Committee Spotlight
• First-time Attendees

Folklife Participatory Action Research with the Southwest Folklife Alliance Facilitated by Selina Morales , Nelda Ruiz, Laura Rios Ramirez and Adriana Camarena . https://folklifeparnetwork.org/ The Southwest Folklife Alliance’s approach to Folklife Participatory Action Research (PAR) offers a method and praxis where people most impacted by local injustices make decisions regarding what is researched and how; community members drive engagement, centering first-voice narrative, community asset mapping, and storytelling as powerful drivers of social change; and folklife is embraced as valid drivers of grassroots social change. Join us to explore the dynamic roles of folklife in designing research and building effective community partnerships. This session is for culture bearers, community leaders and folklorists who are interested in advancing social change in local communities through community-driven research with folklife at the center. The session will be led by Folklife PAR facilitators and practitioners and will feature storytelling and opportunities to connect with participants.

• Global Storm
• Politics, Folklore, and Social Justice
• Networks, Grants, and Other Resources
• Research, Theory, Methodology
• Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC)
• Workshop

Tour Guide: Julián Antonio Carrillo, Curator of Public Programs & AFS Chair of 2024 Annual Meeting Local Organizing Committee Location: Maxwell Museum of Anthropology Address: 500 University Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131 Capacity: 20 Cost: Free Reservations click here . A waitlist will be kept once capacity is reached. Join Julián for an informal tour of Albuquerque’s first public museum. Founded in 1932 at the University of New Mexico (UNM), the Maxwell Museum works “toward greater understandings of the fullness of human experiences in the Southwest and the world” and is committed to restoring voices, reconciling injustices, and realizing community. The tour will emphasize the exhibits “Nothing Left for Me: Federal Policy and the Photography of Milton Snow in Diné Bikéyah” and “ Oaxaca Ingobernable: Aesthetics, Politics and Art Below .” The latter is co-curated by Gustavo Garcia and Natalia M. Toscano, students who played a pivotal role in helping develop the 2024 AFS annual meeting theme. Meet at the front desk for the start of the tour. There is a free parking lot directly West of the museum, with a parking pass available at the front desk. Guests should find their way from the ABQ Convention Center to the museum and back on their own. Options include: 1. (Free) City of Albuquerque ART Bus (15 min.) -- runs constantly up Central Ave, take it eastbound and get off at the corner of University Ave. 2. Get there by Rideshare/ Car Pool/ Walk (~25 min.) 3. (Free) Ask Julián for a ride back to the Conference at the end of the tour. His little EV, "El Mosquito," sits four.

• Local Committee Spotlight
• Folklore and Museums
• Excursion/ Offsite Activity
• Pre-register or Ticket

Tour Guide: Gabino Noriega III, Educator, Career Enrichment Center & Early College Academy & Member of the 2024 AFS Local Organizing Committee Date: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 Time: 1:45 pm MST arrival for a 2:00 pm- 3:30 pm tour Location: Plaza Vieja Gazebo, in Old Town Albuquerque Address: 200 N. Plaza St. N.W.,Albuquerque, NM 87104 Capacity: 20 Cost: $15 Reservations click here . A waitlist will be kept once capacity is reached. Meet Up Location: Old Town Gazeebo Albuquerque is one of the oldest cities in the U.S., and its Old Town Plaza -founded on April 23, 1706- is its historic heart. Centered around this plaza is Albuquerque's Old Town, comprising about ten blocks of historic adobe buildings, today, many of these have been converted into the restaurants, art galleries and shops of Old Town. Join folklorist Gabino on a chilling exploration of Old Town Albuquerque's haunted history. As you wander through the historic streets, listen to tales of ghostly encounters, legends, and folklore that have captivated locals and visitors alike for centuries. Discover the stories behind the city's most famous hauntings, including the infamous La Llorona, the Weeping Woman. Learn about the spectral apparitions that are said to linger in the old adobe buildings and feel the eerie atmosphere as you delve into the supernatural side of Albuquerque's past. This tour is perfect for those seeking a unique and unforgettable experience. With Gabino Noriega's expertise and engaging storytelling, you'll gain a deeper appreciation for the city's rich history and its ghostly legends. More information on historic Old Town here .

• Local Committee Spotlight
• Chicano and Chicana Studies
• Folklore Latino, Latinoamericano, y Caribeño
• Death and Afterlife Studies
• Excursion/ Offsite Activity
• Pre-register or Ticket

Please meet up again ito debrief after the PAR session and work for the next steps for AWSF.

• Pre-register or Ticket

Sponsored by the American Folklore Society. Join AFS staff and others to learn more about AFS, meet colleagues, navigate the meeting, and more!

• Graduate Student and Young Professional
• First-time Attendees
• Networking Event

Kiran Singh Sirah , Jessica Turner , Marsha MacDowell , Sarah Milligan This interactive Q&A session will explore practical examples of advocacy and relationship-building strategies for folklorists across academic, independent, and public sectors. Panelists will share how they’ve navigated difficult moments, fostered cross-disciplinary collaborations, and worked both within and beyond their field to promote cross-cultural understanding and bipartisan support. We’ll discuss ways to communicate the importance of folklore, arts, and humanities to public officials and the broader public, focusing on the impacts on communities. Participants will leave with actionable ideas to begin telling the story of how their work—whether through institutions, projects, or initiatives—has made a difference in their communities.

• Politics, Folklore, and Social Justice
• Live Access via Zoom
• Recorded
• Advocacy
• Ethics
• Cultural Policy
• Roundtable
• Virtual

Sponsored by the Independent Folklorists Section. Chair: Cecelia Ottenweller. Papers by: Karen Dietz, Kathleen Ragan, Mal O'Connor. This panel demonstrates the creative, entrepreneurial resiliency of independent folklorists by taking attendees on a deep dive into the perspectives, skillsets, and lessons learned of three folklorists with long and successful alt-ac careers. We will address how a degree in folklore can translate into a successful independent “alt-ac" career, what opportunities we may be overlooking, how the term “folklore” sometimes gets in the way, and how the field’s internal narratives and bias creates tension in the discipline. We will address criticism within folklore that those with alt-ac careers have “sold out” when we’ve pushed the boundaries away from acceptable norms.

• Global Storm: Surviving the Storm
• Folk Narrative
• Public Programs
• Hybrid
• Research, Theory, Methodology
• Live Access via Zoom
• Recorded
• Section Sponsored Activity
• Pre-organized Session

Chair: James Deutsch. Papers by: Kateri Smith, Amber Ridington (video included in presentation), James Deutsch. Assembled Panel

• Global Storm: Surviving the Storm
• Native Communities and Perspectives

* SESION ESPECIAL BILINGÜE : Descripción bilingüe a continuación. Habrá interpretación simultánea en vivo en español e inglés en esta sesión * * SPECIAL BILINGUAL SESSION: Live simultaneous interpretation in English and Spanish will be offered * Sponsored by the Local Organizing Committee / Patrocinado por el Comité Organizativo Local. Chair / Moderador: Julián Antonio Carrillo. Papers by / Presentaciones de: Michael Trujillo, Gustavo López Castro, Hannah Snavely + Juan Eduardo Wolf, Gloria Colom Braña, Diego Leonardo-Garcia + María Aybar-Diaz, and Gabino Noriega. ENGLISH Join us for what promises to be an illuminating journey through Latin American and Latinx history, genres of folklore and geographies! From material culture, architecture, and instruments (and methodologies for documenting and interpreting them) to histories, stories, archives, and identities and the forces that bring about cultural transformation, this panel first grounds us in historical New Mexico then takes us to Mexico, Chile, the Southern U.S., Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, and finally, back to the Land of Enchantment. The featured presenters work in academia, non-profit organizations, and educational institutions. This bilingual session is a direct result of AFS making the 2024 Annual Meeting Call for Participation / Meeting Theme also in Spanish. ESPAÑOL Acompáñanos en lo que promete ser un recorrido revelador por varios géneros de folclor y cultura popular y geografías latinoamericanas y latinx. Desde cultura material, arquitectura e instrumentos (y metodologías para documentar e interpretar dichos campos) hasta historia e historias, archivos e identidades y las fuerzas que traen consigo la transformación cultural, esta sesión primeramente nos aterriza en un Nuevo México histórico y luego nos lleva a México, Chile, el Sur de EE.UU., Puerto Rico, Massachusetts, y finalmente, de regreso a la Tierra del Encanto. Los presentadores trabajan en el campo académico, en organizaciones no lucrativas y en instituciones educativas.´ Esta sesión bilingüe es un resultado directo de AFS haber hecho la invitación para participar en la Reunión Anual 2024 en español aparte de en inglés.

• Global Storm
• Local Committee Spotlight
• Folklore Latino, Latinoamericano, y Caribeño
• Pre-organized Session

Tributes to departed colleagues will be read during this time of remembrance. Only statements submitted to AFS by October 15 are included in this ceremony.

Recording Pending Sponsored by the American Folklore Society. Welcome and opening of the meeting by President Amy Skillman and Executive Director Jessica A. Turner, with members of the Executive Board and Local Organizing Committee, including highlights of the Albuquerque Meeting.

• Global Storm
• General Session (AFS members)
• Executive Board
• Local Committee Spotlight
• First-time Attendees
• Live Access via Zoom
• Recorded

Lone Piñon is: Jordan Wax, Tanya Nuñez, Karina Wilson, and Santiago Romero Experience the dynamic, time-honored songs and melodies of local band Lone Piñon and learn to move to their music with their collaborator, local dance instructor, Lucy Salazar, who will lead a workshop ! Lone Piñon is a New Mexican string band, or “orquesta típica”, whose music celebrates the integrity and diversity of their region's cultural roots. With fiddles, upright bass, guitars, accordions, vihuela, and bilingual vocals, they play a wide spectrum of the traditional music that is at home in New Mexico. The Norte has long been a crossroads of cultures, and centuries of intersecting histories, trade routes, migrations, and cultural movements have endowed the region with an expansive and rich musical heritage that weaves together Spanish, Mexican, Indigenous, European immigrant, Anglo-American, and Afro-American musical influences. The oldest strands of this tradition have survived in continuity, renewed by each new generation’s contribution to core style and repertoire that has been passed from musician to musician, in some cases over many centuries. The musicians of Lone Piñon learned from elder musicians who instilled in them a respect for continuity and an example of the radicalism, creativity, and cross-cultural solidarity that has always been necessary for musical traditions to adapt and thrive in each generation. Through relationship with elders, study of field recordings, connections to parallel traditional music and dance revitalization movements in the US and Mexico, and hundreds of local and national performances, they have brought the language of the New Mexico orquesta típica back onto the modern stage, back onto dance floors, into a contemporary aesthetic/artistic conversation, and into the ears of a young generation. Sponsored by: AFS Executive Board & (sponsor pending).

• Local Committee Spotlight
• First-time Attendees
• Networking Event

Film by Robert Lemelson . Moderator: TBA. Screening to be followed by a Q/A with the filmmaker. Mental illness is a global crisis. As communities and governments in the United States take increasingly medical, criminal, and carceral approaches, this film presents an alternative grounded in cultural strategies of collective responsibility. “The Sacrifice” is an ethnographic film about a Balinese man, Ketut Sudirta, whose adulthood was shaped by episodes of illness, instability, and violence, despite his best efforts. Ketut’s childhood friend Indra documents the meaning-making surrounding Sudirta’s troubled life, which in the Balinese context is understood as the product of disrupted relationships across interconnected human and spiritual realms. The film explores local reparative and inclusive approaches which center family healing, integration, reconnection, and rebuilding.

• Ritual
• Health and Illness
• Film Screening Series