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On-demand recording
Folklore & Women
with Dr Shelby Judge
£15
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What you’ll explore
- What “folklore” really covers — myth, legend, fairytale and tradition
- The witch, the shapeshifter and the maiden across cultures
- The societal norms these figures were created to enforce
- How feminist thinkers reshape them into symbols of resistance
- Why women's writing keeps returning to ancient stories to tell new ones
About this talk
How have myths and fairytales shaped feminist thought? Explore the power of folklore — its symbols and its role in society today.
For centuries, feminist writers and thinkers have turned to myths, legends, fairytales, religious stories and cultural traditions — all of which come under the umbrella of “folklore” — to make sense of women's experiences. This talk explores the enduring relevance of folklore, asking how these stories can be reclaimed and reimagined for the 21st-century feminist.
Dr Shelby Judge traces figures like the witch, the shapeshifter and the maiden across different traditions, examining the societal norms they were created to enforce and how feminist thinkers have reshaped them into symbols of resistance and possibility. Finally, we ask why we keep returning to ancient stories to tell new ones — a longstanding tradition in women's writing of looking back, subverting dominant myths, and challenging patriarchal ideas.
A peek inside
Your speaker: Dr Shelby Judge
Dr Shelby Judge is a Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries at the University of Derby. She completed her PhD in English Literature at the University of Glasgow with a thesis on contemporary feminist adaptations of Greek myth, and has published on subjects from #MeToo and the Trojan War to adaptations of Helen of Troy. She is a regular contributor to the Literary Encyclopedia.
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