Language: English
Submission Deadline: January 15, 2014
Organisers:
• Center for World Music (CWM), University of Hildesheim (Germany)
• Department of Music & Dance, University of Cape Coast (Ghana)
• Department of Education, University of Maiduguri (Nigeria)
• African Music Archives (AMA), Department of Anthropology and African
Studies, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany)
This conference seeks to explore, both from historical and contemporary
perspectives, the nexus between memory, power, and knowledge in the music of
Africa and its various diasporas. These explorations encompass the history and
politics of sound archiving and scholarly practices as much as intersections of
memory, power, and knowledge in musical performance itself. The contexts within
which we would like to examine this broader field include, but are not limited to, the
realms of popular culture, politics, religion, as well as education. Throughout history,
music has been a crucial means in the representation of power and status as well as
the negotiation of individual and collective identities. As a repository of knowledge,
musical practice often functions as a form of social memory, which we understand
not as a static entity but as a dynamic field within shifting power relations on both the
local and translocal level. Media technology has, over more than a century now,
played an important role in the reconfiguration of this nexus, and particularly the rise
of electronic media in recent years has changed and accelerated its dynamics.
Finally, our own engagement as scholars is deeply implicated in the intersection of
memory, power, and knowledge, compelling us to constantly question our canons
and to reflect on the implications of academic research.
The conference wants to provide a forum for discussions on these and related issues
in a decidedly transdisciplinary setting, serving as a conclusion to the research
project “The Formation and Transformation of Musical Archives in West African
Societies” that has been funded by the Volkswagen Foundation since 2009. In order
to embed the focus on music in Africa into a wider perspective, we also seek
contributions that reference other locales as well as other cultural practices within
the thematic triangle of memory, power, and knowledge. Invited speakers that have
confirmed their participation include Akosua Addo, Kofi Agawu, Karin Barber, Philip
V. Bohlman, David Coplan, Louise Meintjes, Anthony Seeger, Jesse W. Shipley, Ruth
Stone, Timothy D. Taylor, Diane Thram and Bob W. White. A joint publication of
selected conference papers is envisaged.
Proposals should include an abstract of no more than 250 words, paper title and 3 to
5 keywords, as well as your full name, academic affiliation and contact information.
The conference will provide a special section for young scholars (master students at
a late and doctoral students at an early stage of their work). Please indicate, if you
wish to apply for participation in this programme.
The submission deadline is January 15, 2014. Proposals should be sent by email to
Kerstin Klenke (cwm_klenke@uni-hildesheim.de) in one of the following file formats:
doc/docx/rtf/odt/txt. Notifications will be made before March 31, 2014.
Speakers are expected to secure funding to cover their expenses for travel, room
and board themselves, but may apply for financial support from the organisers, if no
other sources are available.