The Folklore Society
About The Folklore Society
The Folklore Society (FLS) is a learned society devoted to the study of traditional culture in all its forms. It was founded in London in 1878 and was one of the first organisations established in the world for the study of folklore. The term 'folklore' describes the overarching concept that holds together a number of aspects of vernacular culture and cultural traditions, and is also the name of the discipline which studies them.
The Folklore Society's interest and expertise covers such topics as traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts and crafts, customs and belief. We are also interested in popular religion, traditional and regional food, folk medicine, children's folklore, traditional sayings, proverbs, rhymes and jingles.
Under the terms of the registration of our charitable status, our aims are to foster the research and documentation of folklore worldwide, and to make the results of such study available to all, whether members of the Society or not.
Publications: The society has published scholarly studies of folklore continuously since 1878, both in periodical and book form. Our prestigious journal Folklore is published on our behalf by Taylor and Francis (three issues per year). Folklore began with volume 1 in 1889, and continued our earlier journals Folk-Lore Record and Folk-Lore Journal; all volumes, except for the most recent five years, are available online to members of our society via www.JStor.org.
Our newsletter, FLS News, is also issued three times a year.
Under the imprints of Mistletoe Books and FLS Books, the Society has published a wide range of monographs and pamphlets on different aspects of folklore, as well as collaborating in the books of other publishers.
Library and Archives: The society holds a substantial library and archive, which are housed by University College London Library, and constitute a unique resource for the study of folklore, both old and new. Our library and archives are accessible to members of the society and scholarly researchers, and our information services are available to everyone.
Conferences and other events: we hold regular conferences, lectures, seminars and other events in London and elsewhere, on a wide range of topics, and we support other related organisations' conferences and events.
Our prestigious Katharine Briggs Lecture, held in November each year, was established in 1981 in memory of Dr Katharine Briggs. Scholars of international repute are invited to address the Society.
Awards and Prizes: The Katharine Briggs Award is an annual prize for the best book of folklore scholarship entered for the competition.
The President's Prize is awarded to the best student essay on folklore research submitted for the prize each year. The Post-Graduate Bursary is awarded to support the successful applicant's folklore research