WSFS 2011 Annual Meeting

Place and time:

The 70th annual meeting of the Western States Folklore Society (WSFS) will be held 15-16 April 2011 at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California. The deadline for abstracts is February 28, 2011. The conference will be held at USC's main University Park Campus.

Theme:

The theme of this year’s conference is “Future Folklore” which could include the future of folklore as a discipline, future-oriented folklore, newly emergent folklore, or the like. As always, while this is the theme of the conference, papers on all aspects of folklore will be welcomed.

The Archer Taylor Memorial Lecture:

This year’s lecture will be given this year by Joe Hickerson, with an introduction by USC Prof. Ed Cray.

Schedule

Click on the Program button to see a PDF of the final program and schdule.

Note:We are investigating interest in conference-goers in a visit to the local Watts Towers, including the Watts Towers Arts Center, the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center, and the Civil Rights Museum at the Watts Labor Community Action Committee. Please let Luisa Del Guidice (luisadg@humnet.ucla.edu) know if you are interested, and we will see about travel arrangements for a group. We anticipate this could be done in 2/12 hours.

Site:

All conference proceedings will be held in the main University Park campus, featuring state of the art media equipment. Plenty of dining options are located nearby.

Accommodations:

WSFS has arranged special rates at the Radisson Hotel, which borders the campus, and is a very short walk to the conference rooms. The number of rooms is limited, and participants are encouraged to book early by calling the Radisson, and identifying as Western States Folklore Society guests. The conference rates are $132 per night, for single or double occupancy. This rate includes high-speed internet access, and access to the 24-hour fitness center. Parking is available for $15 per day. Rooms will be made available at this rate only until March 11 and it is possible that rooms will disappear before this date if there are other bookings. It is important that you make your reservations as early as possible.

• Radisson Hotel at USC: 3540 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, California 90007. (213) 748-4141
• Another nearby option (approximately 3 blocks to campus) is the Vagabond Inn, with rates from $90-100. 3101 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90007. (213) 746-1531

Getting there:

For those flying in, LAX is the recommended airport. From LAX, one can take a taxi (about $40 per trip), or a shuttle. Recommended is Prime Time Shuttles with rates at $15 per person. It is also possible to travel from Burbank airport: Burbank airport has a metrolink train station that will take you to Union Station in downtown LA for $6. From there, one can look for the free shuttle to USC (take the elevator to bus stop #4), or take a taxi for approximately $15.

Registration fees:

Special discount rates are available for regular members, student members, and student nonmembers. Nonmembers who join the Society at the time of registration are eligible for membership benefits, including reduced registration fees and a subscription to Western Folklore. Registration fees for regular members are $45; for non-members $70. Registration fees for student/retired members are $25; for non-members $40.

Abstracts:

Abstracts of 100 words should be submitted to Tok Thompson at thompst@earthlink.net. Deadline for abstracts is February 28, 2011.

Those submitting abstracts must pay their registration fees at the same time. Send your check for the full amount to:

Tok Thompson, PhD
Assistant Professor of Teaching
Department of Anthropology
College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA 90089-4012

Checks must be made out to Western States Folklore Society.

Student Travel Stipends:

For the first time, WSFS is offering three student travel stipends of $100 each. A student must (1) indicate they are applying apply for the stipend; (2) submit their abstracts before the deadline; (3) submit two abstracts: a 100 word abstract for publication in the program and a 350 word abstract in which the paper is described in more detail with special attention to the conceptual point of the paper. This second abstract should also be emailed to Tok Thompson. The student stipends will be announced in early March. Preference will be given to students who come from afar and incur significant travel expenses in coming to the meeting.