Call for Papers


Conference: Folklore and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Himalayas
Dates: January 19 - 21, 2011
Venue: Doon University, Dehradun


Folklore is not only songs and stories, but is a storehouse of knowledge gathered, generated and communicated in creative forms across the centuries by the ordinary as well as the learned people. Himalayan region too, is rich in oral cultural heritage wherein knowledge about the creativity of people, their scientific understanding about their region, their social norms, and their fantasies are contained. UNESCO has defined folklore as Intangible Cultural Heritage and currently several committees around the world are discussing how Intellectual Property Rights could be applied to intangible cultural heritage. Several scholars over the last one century have been interested in studying, documenting and translating the folklore of Himalayan region. However, these efforts have been relatively invisible in India.

Doon University would like to gather together on its premises in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, folklore scholars and other individuals interested in the folklore of Himalayan regions, particularly Uttarakhand, for a conference. The aim of the conference is:


The proposed conference would discuss the subject under the following sections:

  1. Texts and Aesthetics: Folklore as expressed in various textual genres, their aesthetic principles in terms of language, styles of narration/performance etc.
  2. Folklore and Anthropology: What do the anthropological analyses of Himalayan folklore show us about the region?
  3. Life of Folk Performers: Folk performers are professionals in their own right and in this section we shall explore how their lives and works have been organised economically, how they create texts, what musical instruments do they use and how do they learn to make and play them, how do they survive in the contemporary democratic society.

Scholars of folklore, artists who have worked with folklore, film makers and other individuals seriously interested in the subject are invited to present papers in this conference. Scientific Audio-Visual documentation and films will also be considered for presentation. Please send an abstract of 150 words along with the title of the proposed paper. For the audio-visual documentation/film please provide a 500 words synopsis and mention the exact length in time. Abstracts and synopses should be sent to the undersigned by 05.12.2010 either by email or by post. All abstracts and synopses will be reviewed by a committee and the decision will be communicated by 15.12.2010.

Professor Sadhana Naithani
Head School of Languages
Doon University
Kedarpur
Dehradun 248001
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Tel: 0135 2533146/147
Email: sndoon@gmail.com