Folklore experts from across the world will gather in Sheffield this summer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the birth of urban legend studies in Steel City.
Sheffield Hallam University was chosen to host the International Society for Contemporary Legend Research (ISCLR) conference in 2023 due to its high profile as an international centre for research excellence in folklore and cultural heritage.
Scholars who specialise in supernatural legends, rumours, conspiracy theories and ‘friend of a friend’ stories first met at Halifax Hall at the University of Sheffield for the very first conference in the summer of 1982. Since then ISCLR conferences have been held every year in Europe and North America apart from 2020 during the Covid pandemic.
The original Perspectives on Contemporary Legend seminars in Sheffield launched the academic study of what was, at that time, a new genre of folklore: the ‘urban legend’ or ‘urban myth’.
Urban legends are modern stories told as true but which include traditional motifs that are usually attributed to a ‘friend of a friend’. During the 1980s stories about phantom hitch-hikers, alligators in sewers and urban horrors such as Spring-heeled Jack were popular. More recently these have been replaced by alien abductions and social media horrors such as Slenderman and political conspiracies.
Delegates from the USA, Canada, South Africa and Europe will present their research in the week beginning Monday 26 June in the Charles Street building on City Campus. They will discuss how legend scholarship has evolved and expanded its remit to incorporate new stories, conspiracy rumours, fake and folk news in the age of pandemics and perma-crises.
One of the panel themes asks ‘Is the Truth still out there?’ and marks the 30th anniversary of The X-Files. In the TV show that premiered in 1993, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson played FBI agents who investigated cases of monsters, serial killers, UFOs and alien abductions and other popular urban legends.
The 2023 conference is hosted by the Centre for Contemporary Legend (CCL) research group that includes Dr David Clarke, Dr Diane A. Rodgers and Andrew Robinson from the university’s College of Social Sciences and Arts.
The CCL organised the donation last year of the Professor John Widdowson folklore archive to the SHU library Special Collection. Prof Widdowson, now 87, one the original founders of ISCLR, co-hosted the inaugural meetings that began in 1982. In addition to the legend presentations there are plans for live music and dance, film screenings and an excursion to legend locations in the Peak District National Park.
Associate Professor David Clarke, who co-founded the Contemporary Legend research group at SHU said: ‘We are proud to announce that experts from across the world are “coming home” to Steel City to celebrate the 40th anniversary of urban legend studies.
‘Since 1982 Sheffield has become known across the world as a centre for excellence in the study of folklore and contemporary legend.The choice of Sheffield Hallam as the host reflects the impact of stories, legends and beliefs on every aspect of our lives in the 21st century.’
Dr Diane Rodgers said: “Public interest in folklore and contemporary legend is apparent with the unabating proliferation of folk horror media, and the re-engagement of younger generations with anti-establishment themes inherent in folklore can be seen splashed across all forms of social media.
“We are excited that the continued vital relevance of the discipline to modern developments across society will be reflected in the variety of papers and discussions at the conference.”
ISCLR 2023 is an academic conference hosted by Sheffield Hallam University. Delegates must be members of ISCLR and a fee is payable for registration. Special discount rates are available for students and members of The Folklore Society. To register, we strongly recommend using our online form, located here: https://forms.gle/zNeRvHjV7RbEKfdf8
David Clarke is Associate Professor in the Department of Media Arts and Communication at Sheffield Hallam University, UK. He teaches media law and his research specialism is contemporary legend. Previously he worked as a journalist for The Sheffield Star and Yorkshire Post and spent four years working as a Press Officer in local government. His PhD in Folklore and was completed at the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition, University of Sheffield, in 1999. From 2008-13 he acted as consultant and curator of the MoD UFO files project with The National Archives. His books include The Angel of Mons (2004) and How UFOs Conquered the World: the history of a modern myth (2015). In 2018 he co-founded the Centre for Contemporary Legend at Sheffield Hallam University. This blog covers his twin research interests in journalism and folklore. The views expressed in the contents are entirely his own.
drdavidclarke.co.uk 