Journal of American Folklore Call for Papers

Special Issue:
Folklore of the African Diaspora—Revised Deadlines

JAF is soliciting paper proposals for a special issue of Journal of American Folklore on folklore of the African Diaspora. We are especially interested in essays that, while grounded in folkloristic scholarship, historicity, and the examination of living traditions, can bring the area of Africana folklore more fully into dialogue with contemporary theory. In particular, we seek papers and proposals that engage issues of race and gender, postcoloniality, and/or transnationalism. Proposals that expand conventional notions of genre as well as those guided by stricter definitions are welcome. Proposals and completed papers should be sent to Professor Anand Prahlad, Department of English, 107 Tate Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. For more information or to send proposals and/or papers, write to prahlad@missouri.edu. The due date for completed manuscripts is now September 15, 2003.

Intersections of Public Sector and Academic Folklore (revised)

The "Call for Papers" JAF recently issued for a special issue on the topic of "Public Sector and Academic Intersections" has been modified as follows: The Journal of American Folklore seeks articles at any time that deal with the significant intersections, differences, and commonalities of work done by folklorists in the public, applied, and academic arenas where folklorists work, including but not restricted to issues of public policy; global economies and the marketplace; cultural heritage documentation, presentation, and preservation; applied and advocacy work; apprenticeship programs; folklore and education; issues of borderland work; ethnic diversity; intellectual property rights, etcetera. Ideas and/or proposals are always welcome to Elaine J. Lawless, General Editor, at either jaf@missouri.edu or lawlesse@missouri.edu.

Interrogating the Discipline:
A Special Request for New "Dialogue" Pieces for JAF

JAF seeks dialogic, even contested articles that explore, examine, and interrogate the discipline of folkloristics from a variety of different theoretical, practical, ethical, experimental, and methodological approaches. Our premise is that the discipline can best sustain its strength and significance in local, national, and global communities through reflection and interrogation of our work. We invite both historical and contemporary examinations of how we define folklore and folkloristics, teach our discipline, formulate folklore meetings, intersect with other disciplines, and disseminate our work through journals and publications, museum, and public and/or applied sector work. Proposals (500 words) or papers should be sent to Elaine J. Lawless, General Editor, at either jaf@missouri.edu or lawlesse@missouri.edu.

Experimental Ethnography

For this special issue of JAF, we seek examples of what has been described variously as "experimental ethnography," "fictionalized ethnography," or "literary ethnography." We are distinguishing this type of writing from other kinds of "creative nonfiction" on the basis that the work is intended to be ethnographic and analytical. Folklorists, anthropologists, sociolinguists, and those in performance studies are exploring myriad ways to expand how we write ethnographies. This special issue of JAF intends to publish some of these experiments in writing. Proposals (500 words) for this special issue should be sent to Elaine J. Lawless, General Editor, at either jaf@missouri.edu or lawlesse@missouri.edu. Final papers are due to JAF by September 15, 2003.

General Notes to Authors

Before submitting manuscripts, authors should refer to "Information to Contributors" on the inside back cover of the most recent issue of JAF. The contents of the journal reflect a wide range of professional concerns and theoretical orientations. Articles present significant research findings and theoretical analyses from folkloristics and related fields. Essays are interpretive, speculative, or polemic. Notes are narrower in scope and generally focus on a single, often provocative, issue of definition, interpretation, or amplification. Commentaries included in the "Dialogues" section, usually address topics raised in earlier articles, AFS meetings, or concern issues for the membership at large.

All work submitted to JAF should conform to the 14th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. Ideas and/or proposals regarding possible topics are always welcome to Elaine J. Lawless, General Editor, at lawlesse@missouri.edu or jaf@missouri.edu.