CfP: IASPM Canada Annual Conference 2024 "Building Collective Futures: Communities Thriving Through Music"
Call for Papers
Building Collective Futures: Communities Thriving Through Music
IASPM Canada Annual Conference 2024: Call for Papers
University of Regina: Regina, Saskatchewan
September 27-29, 2024
Submission deadline: 1 April, 2024
Submit proposals through: https://forms.gle/qVgRUoGyF1frMcX98
We live in a time of uncertainty: multiple theatres of war and conflict, refugee movements across the globe, rampant technological change, political polarization, cultural upheaval, and a global climate crisis threaten individual and collective futures at every turn. At this unprecedented point in time, how can we envision and build thriving, alternative futures? And for whom? Does Canada have a special place in all of this: how do we transition from the inequities of our past relationships (to Indigenous populations and to the earth) to building respectful, inclusive, and sustainable futures? What role(s) does popular music play in such projects? Is it sometimes, also, a part of the problem? How does digitality help or hinder efforts to elevate humanity through musicking? How do new methodologies provide insight in changing times? How are musicians working collectively to build thriving futures?
Building Collective Futures is the theme and challenge of the 2024 IASPM-CA Annual Conference. Across scholarship and practice, the pursuit of sustainability has become paramount. However, mere sustainability is no longer sufficient. Instead, we ask what musical futures would sound like if they focused on thriving collectively. As we envision a future where sustainability extends beyond mere survival to encompass vibrant, thriving communities, music emerges as a powerful force for change.
We invite scholarship and music that brings to light the building of sustainable futures in challenging times. This call seeks presentations that explore innovative approaches across popular music studies, with particular focus on the subthemes of cultural sustainability, sovereignty, digital futures, thriving local, regional, and global music scenes, and ecological resilience.
Themes to be Explored:
Cultural and Artistic Sustainability:
○ Moving from the sustainability of artistic expressions into new forms of collective thriving
○ Ways in which cultural sustainability can be integrated into music production, performance, and distribution practicesSovereignty:
○ Indigenous survivance and musical futures
○ Communities’ enactments of sovereignty using popular music
○ The role music plays in asserting cultural sovereignty and promoting self-determination
3. Digital Futures for Music:
○ Shaping the use of digital technologies to more collectively impact the future of music creation, distribution, and consumption
○ Opportunities and challenges digital platforms present for promoting sustainability and equitable access to music
4. Thriving Music Scenes:
○ The role of local scenes as spaces for collective participation in the face of challenges and changes
○ Digital and hybrid music scenes
○ Musical utopias and future building
○ Local, regional, and global music scenes’ roles in contributing to the economic, social, and cultural sustainability of communities
○ Challenges and supports to strengthen local music ecosystems
○ The role of events in the making of a scene (concerts, festivals, conflicts and wars, etc.)
5. Ecological Resilience:
○ Acknowledging, mitigating, and correcting for the environmental impact of the music industry
○ Strategies for musicians, venues, and industry stakeholders to promote eco-friendly practices and advocate for environmental stewardship
While we welcome papers on any aspects of popular music, we encourage papers that align with the conference sub-themes above.
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts of individual papers, workshops, performances and other presentations should be no longer than 300 words. The program committee is especially interested in proposals in diverse formats. Panel submissions should include a title and abstract for the panel (300 words max.) as well as titles and abstracts for the individual papers on the panel. All abstracts for a panel should be submitted together, with one member or respondent designated as the chair. Abstracts will be adjudicated individually, so it is possible for a panel to be accepted but not an individual paper and vice versa. Each abstract should also include a short biography of the author (100 words max.) including the institutional affiliation, if any, and email address of each author. Each abstract should also include five keywords. Submissions in French and English are acceptable. Proposals will be blind-reviewed.
Submit proposals through: https://forms.gle/qVgRUoGyF1frMcX98
Presentation Logistics and Modality:
Papers will be limited to 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes of questions. Panels will be limited to a maximum of 4 papers. Other presentations (workshops, film screenings, roundtables, etc.) will generally be limited to 60 minutes, but alternatives can be proposed. All participants must be members of IASPM-Canada at the time of the conference. Membership information is available on the following website: https://www.iaspm.ca/signup.
Although in-person presentations are the conference norm, should you wish to request accessibility accommodations for a virtual presentation (e.g. a health need or visa concern), please email Charity Marsh at Charity.Marsh[at]uregina[dot]ca at the time of proposal submission.
For questions about the conference, please contact the Program Committee Chair Liz Przybylski (liz.przybylski[at]ucr[dot]edu), or Local Organising Chair Charity Marsh (Charity.Marsh[at]uregina[dot]ca).
Program Committee Members:
Vanessa Blais-Tremblay, Université du Québec à Montréal
Maxim Bonin, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Maren Hancock, University of Wolverhampton
Charity Marsh, University of Regina
Liz Przybylski, University of California, Riverside
Paul Théberge, Carleton University