June 30th-July 1st, 2026

CONFERENCE VENUE: HOTEL SAVOIA EXCELSIOR PALACE, Riva del Mandracchio, 4, 34124 Trieste TS

Trieste

Conference Theme:

Folklore and Borderlands: Tales of Order and Identity

                                                                    

Organised by:

Associazione Culturale Bucanevis, APS Stadt, APS Hart Lab, The Bournemouth Film School (BFS), Arts University Bournemouth, BAFTSS, and SRN.

CALL FOR PAPERS:

Conference + Festival Title:

TIMES IN BETWEEN 2026

Folklore and Borderlands: Tales of Order and Identity.

Venue: Savoia Excelsior Palace, Trieste, Italy.

Dates: 30 June – 1 July 2026

Deadline for proposals: 15 April 2026

Language: English

Since its inception in 2024, this conference + festival gathered an array of international delegates for a meeting of minds supported by respect and democratic exchange of ideas; as such, it has been supported by a range of international institutions: Arts University Bournemouth, UK; Bournemouth Film School (BFS); Laboratory for Semiotics, Ethnosemiotics, Nonfictional Studies and Audiovisuality (SENSA Lab), University College Cork; APS Stadt, The Hart Lab, British Association of Film and Screen Studies (BAFTSS), Screenwriting Research Network (SRN); Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.

2026 Theme: Folklore and Borderlands: Tales of Order and Identity.

Folklore offers critical tools for understanding how culture articulates experiences and collective ideas of orders. Borderlands—whether geographic, social, linguistic, occupational, or symbolic—are not only sites of cultural exchange, but also of stratification, invisibility, precarity, resistance, germination of ideas and identity negotiation.

TIMES IN BETWEEN 2026: Folklore and Borderlands: Tales of Order and Identity, (Conference + Festival), with the support of Arts University Bournemouth, British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS), Screenwriting Research Network (SRN), NECS – European Network for Cinema and Media Studies, invites contributors to look at folklore and borderlands in cinema and literature adaptation, and to examine how lived, and performed spaces at the borders are shaped by desires of order, shared identity and power relations.

As suggested, this conference foregrounds the ways folklore emerges from, responds to, and analyses structures associated with the idea of the border, external and internal. As such, it is intended primarily for scholars and practitioners in folklore studies, including independent researchers, and graduate students. Contributions from scholars in literary and film/media studies are welcome when grounded in relevant theory, methods, or materials.

We especially welcome research that reflects on the ethics and politics of representation in folklore. We look forward to conversations that critically examine how folklore both reflects and reshapes life in the borderlands—especially from the perspectives of those most affected by social, economic, and political boundaries.

Suggested Topics Include (but Are Not Limited To):

• Folklore as an expression of border culture.

• Folklore and the lived experience of borders (checkpoints, crossings, surveillance).

• Race, ethnicity, and racialization in borderland folk tales.

• Embodiments of border horror.

• Gendered folklore in cultural and social borderlands.

• Folk Tales as responses to imposed order.

• Monsters and Saviours in intergenerational folklore across borders. 

• Indigenous folkloric perspectives on imposed borders and colonial boundaries. 

• Silence and Absence in Folklore.

• Migration narratives, refugee folklore, and stories of displacement •

• Methodological and ethical challenges in researching borderland folklore. 

• Digital folklore, social media, and new border-making practices.

Submission Guidelines:

Please, submit an ABSTRACT, with your name, of 250–300 words that clearly articulates the framework of research, sources of tradition (oral, performative, material, digital), and engagement with the theme. Abstracts should also briefly address methodology and fieldwork context where relevant. Include a brief BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE (50–100 words) with institutional affiliation, and email.

Abstract Deadline: 15 April 2026

Notification of Acceptance: 1 May 2026

Conference Fees deadline: 20 May 2026

Conference Dates: 30 June -1 July 2026

Submissions should be sent to Associazione Culturale Bucanevis, at bucanevis@libero.it  with the subject line: Folklore and the Borderlands CFP

SUBMISSIONS

Presentation Formats:

• Individual papers

• Themed panels (3–4 presenters)

• Roundtables (project focused)

• Individual Short films

• Individual papers + Short films screening

• Themed panels (2–3 presenters) + Short films screening.

TIMES IN BETWEEN 2026 is organized by a committee comprising: Dr Romana Turina (Arts University Bournemouth, UK), Rob Amey (Arts University Bournemouth, UK), Cultural Association Bucanevis, Italy; The Hart Lab, Italy, Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.

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CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

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30th June 2025

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31st June 2025

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1st July 2025

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