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History and Purpose

The Journal of Folklore Research, a publication of the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, was established in 1964 by Richard M. Dorson. Until 1983, it was known as the Journal of the Folklore Institute. The name change signaled an expansion in scope, and today JFR's editorial board includes folklorists from four continents. Devoted to the study of the world’s traditional creative and expressive forms, the Journal of Folklore Research provides an international forum for current theory and research among scholars of folklore and related fields. The current editor is Moira Smith. Since July 2002, JFR has been published and distributed by Indiana University Press.

The Editorial Board welcomes substantive articles of current theoretical interest to folklore as an international discipline. In addition to topical, incisive articles, authors contribute timely reports on new books; assess the current state of folkloristics; and address the fieldwork experience.

The Journal of Folklore Research is indexed in the Social Sciences and Humanities Index, the MLA Bibliography, Anthropological Index Online, the American Humanities Index, the Music Index, and the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences. It is abstracted in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life. In addition, JFR augments major research and teaching libraries in the former Soviet bloc as part of the East and Central Europe Journal Donation Project, sponsored by the New School for Social Research.

Scope of Journal

The Journal of Folklore Research welcomes theoretical and comparative studies on any aspect of folklore, folklife, and ethnomusicology. Papers should be based on field observation and/or analysis of archived or published texts of known provenance. Texts should be treated in their social, cultural, ethnographic, and /or historical contexts. Papers should also engage with the scholarly literature in folklore or ethnomusicology.

Many authors find it helpful to consult recent issues of JFR before submitting to us. In addition, two sample articles are available for downloading:

Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Barbara. 1989. "Authoring Lives." Journal of Folklore Research 26/2:123-49.

Kwesi, Yankah. 1991. "Power and Circuit of Formal Talk." Journal of Folklore Research 28/1:1-22.

In addition to regular articles, we also have the following occasional departments:

• Encounters with Folklore: briefer, more descriptive accounts of folkloric or ethnomusicological traditions that have not been widely documented before. Encounters should nevertheless be ethnographically rich accounts based in fieldwork.
• Fieldwork and Methodology Notes: for shorter pieces that engage with issues and problems in folkloric and ethnomusicological methodology or practice.
• Translations: articles originally published elsewhere but translated into English.

Materials in the following departments receive internal editorial review but not external peer review:

• Dialogues: It is our hope that the journal stimulates thought, debate, and criticism among our readers, and from time to time we publish commentaries and critiques of work recently published in our pages. On these occasions we also extend the original authors the opportunity to make rejoinders.
• Forums: a series of papers on a topic of contemporary theoretical or professional importance, followed by invited responses by experts.

JFR also occasionally publishes peer reviewed special issues devoted to a single topic of interest to the field. Folklorists and ethnomusicologists interested in proposing special issues should contact us with a detailed outline. We welcome papers written in clear English and that follow the JFR style guide. All submissions are subjected to internal editorial review, and those with promise are sent for double blind expert review. We strive to complete the review process within three months of receipt, but many submissions are reviewed more quickly. (Due to circumstances beyond our control, on occasion the review process might also take longer.)

About Folklore and Ethnomusicology

The study of folklore (sometimes called “folkloristics”) has strong ties to the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts, and is often interdisciplinary in its approach to the documentation, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of its subject matter. Generally, folklorists are concerned with culture communicated by informal means, including oral tradition, material culture, and customary processes. Ethnomusicology is the study of music of all types and from all cultures, exploring the role of music in human life, analyzing relationships between music and culture, and studying music cross-culturally.

The two fields are closely interrelated, and both share common interests and engage in a rewarding exchange of ideas with scholars and professionals in many fields: