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University to host state Folklore Society conference

The “legends and tales” of the Southern Tier and New York state will be in the spotlight when the New York Folklore Society’s Graduate Student Conference is held at Binghamton University on Saturday, Nov. 12.

The conference will include paper presentations from Binghamton graduate students, a reading from English professor Jaimee Wriston Colbert and a keynote address from English professor Elizabeth Tucker. It is free for faculty/staff, students and community members.

“This conference is a recognition of the significant work that is taking place on the subject of legends and tales from both graduate students and established scholars,” Tucker said.

The New York Folklore Society, which was formed in Albany in 1944 by Louis C. Jones and Harold Thompson, fosters the study and promotion of folklore and folklife of the state’s diverse cultures through education, advocacy, support and outreach. Folklore and folklife, according to the society, are “cultural ways in which a group maintains and passes on a shared way of life.”

“Ever since its inception, the New York Folklore Society has had a strong community emphasis,” Tucker said. “It’s meant to honor the traditions of areas and give the folklore back to the people.”

Read more in Inside Binghamton University

Visit the New York Folklore Society’s web page