Folk Life Studies Society - Folk Life Conference

The annual conference is a friendly four day event held at various locations in Great Britain and Ireland in September. It includes papers by Society members and eminent guest lecturers and study excursions to local sites of interest. The conference provides an unique opportunity for the exchange of ideas and information on an informal basis.

The Society for Folk Life Studies

ANNUAL CONFERENCE, 2012

MANCHESTER, England, 13^th to 16^th September

Every City is unique. Our 2012 conference is intended to explore Manchester’s uniqueness. Its rise and wealth in the Victorian period was largely based on cotton. It is still possible to see some of the late eighteenth century mills on which Manchester’s commercial richness was based. However, cotton manufacturing was soon decanted to the more suitable towns and villages of south Lancashire. Manchester was to become the trading centre for the industry, ‘Cottonopolis’. One day of the conference will be given over to an exploration of this industry and will include a visit to Styal Mill, Cheshire, now owned by the National Trust.

The cultural richness of any city is enhanced by contributions made by incomers. This is certainly true of Manchester where life has been enriched by the involvement of communities from Germany; from the Ashkenazi Jews of central Europe and the Sephardic Jews of the south; by the Irish; the Italians; and by the Eastern European immigrants from countries such as Poland and the Ukraine who settled here in the years up to and including the Second World War. The period after the war brought commonwealth immigrants from the Caribbean and the Asian communities from both the Indian sub-continent and some parts of Africa. This period also saw the enlargement of the Chinese communities who had begun to settle here earlier in the century. The first full day of the conference will consist of a study of some of these communities.

Our conference venue will be the recently refurbished People’s History Museum. There will be the usual trip out, a tour of the city and some local entertainment at the conference dinner on the Saturday evening. We are sure that delegates will come away from the conference with an enriched understanding of what made – and continues to make Manchester the city it is.

Due to the wide range of hotels and guest houses available within Manchester, the conference fee this year will comprise three rates:

The cost of attending the whole conference WITHOUT accommodation will be £295. (A list of hotels near the People’s History Museum is available on request)
The cost of attending the whole conference WITH accommodation in the Macdonald Townhouse Hotel (http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/manchester-townhouse-hotel/) near to the People’s History Museum will be £495 for single occupancy, and £445 per person for two people sharing a room.
Day rates for the conference (with lunch and dinner, but NO accommodation) are available at £100 EACH DAY for the 14^th, and 15^thand £60 for the 16^th September.

If you wish to attend this year’s conference, please complete the application form overleaf and send it, with a non-returnable deposit of £75, to the Conference Secretary (Steph Mastoris) at:

National Waterfront Museum, Maritime Quarter, Oystermouth Road, Swansea, SA1 3RD, Wales.

As usual, in addition to an opportunity to learn about and experience the distinctive culture of Manchester, we hope also to have contributions on this theme from the rest of the British Isles and beyond. Please contact the conference secretary, if you wish offer a paper. (steph.mastoris@museumwales.ac.uk)

The Society for Folk Life Studies

Annual Conference

Manchester, England: 13^th to 16^th September 2012

**The city: its industry, its ethnic groups and its culture**

The conference hotel is Macdonald Townhouse Hotel 101 Portland Street, Manchester city centre, Greater Manchester M1 6DF (Tel: 0844 855 9136), Website: http://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/manchester-townhouse-hotel/

PROGRAMME

(DRAFT as at 9-2-2012)

THURSDAY, 13^th September

17.15-18.00 Registration at People’s History Museum, Left Bank, Spinningfields, Manchester, England, M3 3ER (Tel/Fax: +44 (0)161 838 9190), Website: http://www.phm.org.uk/

18.00-18.05 Eddie Cass (SFLS President)

Welcome

18.30-19.30 Professor Alan Kidd (Manchester Metropolitan University)

Keynote address: 'Manchester: the first industrial city'

19.45-21.00 Dinner at The People’s History Museum

FRIDAY, 14^th September

Urban Minorities and their role in the growth of the city

09.05 Assemble at People’s History Museum

09.00-09.05 Eddie Cass

Introductory remarks.

09.05-09.50 Bill Williams (Manchester University)

An acceptable minority? Manchester's Jewish community

9.50-10.30 Tony Rea (Independent scholar)

The Italian Contribution to Manchester from the 19th Century to the Present (http://www.ancoatslittleitaly.com/tony_rea_ice_cream.htm)

10.30 – 11.00 Tea & coffee

11.00-11.45 Gerry Yeung (Yang Sing)

The Chinese in Manchester: 1960- 2010

11.45 – 12.30 Mervyn Busteed (Manchester University)

Being Irish in Nineteenth Century Manchester

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch at People’s History Museum

13.30 – 14.30 Short papers:

13.30-13.50 TBA

13.50-14.10 TBA

14.10-14.30 TBA

14.45-17.45 Canals and Cotton

A walking tour of the city’s Northern Quarter. Led by Terry Wyke

19.15 Wine Reception at the Yang Sing Restaurant