WSFS Mission Statement

Mission Statement & Strategic Plan

Western States Folklore Society is committed to promoting greater knowledge of the diverse range of folklore and folklife by fostering the study of cultural traditions in the Western states and throughout the world.


Strategic Plan

The Society will aim to accomplish its mission through:

  • Connecting scholars and scholarship around the world, to help promote an engaged and active discipline
  • Convening regular conferences in the western states of the United States in order to foster dialogue and collaboration among various individuals and groups working in the area of folklore and folklife, both academic and public
  • Collaborating with regional, national, and international organizations, scholars, and programs devoted to folklore and folk cultures
  • Encouraging and supporting the participation of a broad and inclusive diversity of folklore scholars and scholarship, including diversity in research areas and interests; career levels; and identities such as ethnic/racial, national, religious, gender, sex, abledness, economic, etc.
  • Providing expertise, through our membership to news outlets, media sources, and the general public, to help increase more public recognition of folklore and folklore studies
  • Encouraging, mentoring, and supporting younger scholars in the field
  • Publishing the society’s journal, Western Folklore, which is global in scope and readership.