Two-day International Conference
Call for papers
MUSIC, OPPRESSION and RESISTANCE
Amsterdam, 2-3 March 2012
The Royal Society for Music History of the Netherlands (KVNM) and The Bake Society for Performing Arts Worldwide invite you to submit proposals for papers on the power of music in connection with conflict, battle, oppression and resistance.
Music has always accompanied battle. The trumpet called soldiers to arms, drums set the pace to which soldiers marched into the battlefield. In our time, too, when battles are fought with high-tech equipment rather than swords or bare hands, soldiers expose themselves to music to let their adrenaline flow. At the same time, music is always vulnerable to censorship. Especially during times of war and oppression, some types of music are not allowed to be played or listened to. Apparently, the power of music is such that it can threaten or weaken the hold political systems have on people. However, music can also pacify by reinforcing solidarity and creating community.
For this conference, we invite proposals that address the relation between music, war, peace, and censorship.
Ideas for topics include, but are not limited to:
o The characteristics of battle hymns, etc.
o Music used as a tool for propaganda
o Musical censorship
o Entartete Musik
o Music as a threat to authority
o Protest songs
o Singing and composing for peace
o Music and solidarity
o Music as a means to survive
o Music oppressed, music revived
We particularly welcome proposals based on practice-based research. The Societies aim to host an interactive conference and therefore encourages speakers to present their papers in a stimulating fashion.
This two-day conference will take place on Friday 2 (all day) and Saturday 3 March 2012 (morning only) in Amsterdam. The second day of the conference will coincide with Music Freedom Day, which celebrates freedom of musical expression worldwide. The Tropentheater in Amsterdam will organize festivities on 3 March 2012, which the participants of the conference will be able to attend.
Please send your proposal to:
Deadline for submission is 15 November 2011, 300 words abstract + 200 words CV