Reading Group

This runs online as drop-in sessions led by members of the community and the Access Folk team. You will have the opportunity to discuss a variety of folk-related material, ranging from articles and blogs to albums and interviews. For each session, there will be readings and/or other media and you can take a look at either, or both. 


Everyone is welcome: No formal qualifications or academic background is needed - just an interest in folk song and traditional music. Attendance is flexible: come to as many or as few sessions as you like, depending on what suits you, or which topics interest you most!


Don't worry if you haven't had time to read everything in detail, you are still welcome to join the discussion.


How do I join?

If you want to attend one or more of our online readings groups send us an email or direct message us on social media (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram) and we will send you a link.  If you sign up to our Newsletter via our website you will also get information about our future activities.


Can't get enough? There is more!

We run our reading groups alternately with the Contemporary Folklore Research Centre's Lore and Lunch reading group so that you can attend both. Have a look on their website for dates and themes.

Spring 2023 - Folk Singing as Heritage

2023 marks twenty years since UNESCO adopted its Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage to help states and other international actors protect living cultural traditions and the communities that produce them. 


You can “dive in” and find out more about the traditions they safeguard in this interactive resource and read about how they define Intangible Cultural Heritage here


To highlight the UNESCO convention, our readings this term are all influenced by the notion of heritage in folk singing and traditional performing arts. We have chosen short sections from the readings to focus on but feel free to read the whole articles if you have the time and interest.

Thursday 23 March, 1-2 pm

Theorising ownership and control in folk music 

Some questions to think about

Read


Listen/View

Three examples which can be interpreted as "knowers", "doers",  and "marketer" roles in the context of Swedish herding calls: 


Thursday 20 April, 1-2pm

Folk Clubs as Heritage: “If folk clubs did not exist where would we go to sing ?”

Some questions to think about


Read


Additional reading


Listen/View

Extracts from Boz Hayward’s film “Folk Club - 3 hour epic musical tour of Chorlton Folk Club [Manchester] between 2010 and 2019”. 

Thursday 18 May, 1-2pm

Ethnonationalism and folk singing heritage - a view from Hungary 

Some questions to think about

Read


Listen/View

Thursday 15 June, 1-2pm

Commercialisation of folk singing heritage - a view from Vietnam 

Questions to think about


Read


Listen/View

Use the buttons below to view the topics and readings from past seasons of our Reading Group: