CfP: Popular Music Methodologies Conference (18–19.06.2026, Middlesex University London) 01.02.2026
Call for Papers
Popular Music Methodologies Conference
Middlesex University, London, UK.
18th – 19th June 2026
Following the publication, in 2025, of The Intellect Handbook of Popular Music Methodologies, edited by Mike Dines, Shara Rambarran and Gareth Dylan Smith, a hybrid conference will be held at Middlesex University in June 2026 to continue the discussion. The Popular Music Methodologies Conference will address the diverse ways we study, interpret and engage with popular music methodologies, bringing together researchers, scholars, practitioners and students across the disciplines and field that enable us to reflect on the tools, theories, and practices that currently shape the research of popular music.
Popular Music Studies resists easy categorization, drawing upon a broad range of research methodologies, from ethnography, archival research and oral history to computational analysis, performance studies, and a wide variety of practice-based research. Within this set of activities, the application of approaches from sociology, cultural studies, critical race theory, sound studies, gender and queer theory and global media studies continue to transform how popular music may be understood. To address such diversity in methodologies, the conference aims to create an inclusive space where these can be interrogated.
To continue the vibrant and critical conversation about the evolving methodologies of popular music studies, we invite you to join us in shaping this dynamic field further. We therefore welcome papers, panels, and alternative-format presentations on topics including, but not limited to:
Innovations in methods for studying popular music in digital and global contexts
The intersections of theory and practice in popular music research
Creative, practice-based, and interdisciplinary approaches
Methodological challenges in oral history, (online) ethnography, videography, video analysis and archival work
Ethics, access, and positionality in popular music scholarship
Specific topics may address:
Popular music and AI
Platformisation
Zoo-musicology
Eco-semiotics
Gaming
Gender/queer studies
Digital performance
Popular music and archaeology
Artistic research and practice-based research
Sustainability and climate change
We propose to publish the conference proceedings alongside plans to establish an academic network to foster scholarly collaboration in popular music methodologies.
Abstracts of 250 words for individual papers (20 minutes) and 500 words for panels, roundtables or workshops (60 minutes) should be submitted by 1st February 2026 to m.dines[at]mdx[dot]ac[dot]uk. Please also include a short biography (150 words max).
Dr. Mike Dines, Middlesex University, UK
Dr. Shara Rambarran, University of Brighton, UK
Professor Michael Ahlers, Leuphana University, Germany
Professor Alethea de Villiers, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
Dr. Eulàlia Febrer-Coll, Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR), Spain
Associate Professor Patryk Galuszka, University of Lodz, Poland
Dr. Brian Andrew Inglis, Middlesex University, UK
Professor Michael Kahr, JAM MUSIC LAB Private University for Jazz and Popular Music, Austria
Professor Hillegonda Rietveld, London Southbank University, UK
Dr Hüseyin Serbes, Middlesex University, UK
Associate Professor Simone Tosoni, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy
Carsten Wernicke, Leuphana University, Germany
Professor Wolf-Georg Zaddach, Macromedia University, Germany