The National Folklore Survey

Introducing the National Folklore Survey for England with Dr David Clarke (Sheffield Hallam University)

With morris dancing on primetime television and celebrities making documentaries about aspects of English folklore, its cultural profile has never seemed higher. Now seems the perfect time to ask the people of England about their customs and practices, their beliefs, and the stories they hear and tell. Dr David Clarke is leading a project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, to do just that. This talk will introduce how The National Folklore Survey aims to capture an accurate snapshot of the folklore of multicultural England, producing new knowledge, insights and understanding of contemporary English folk culture at a time when many individuals and communities in England feel what historian and broadcaster David Olusoga calls ‘a conflicted sense of identity’. The audience will have a preview of the draft survey questions with the opportunity to…