CfP: Human:Music:Environment – Annual Conference of the Austrian Society for Musicology (19.-21.11.2026, University Innsbruck) Deadline: 15.05.2026
Annual Conference of the Austrian Society for Musicology
University of Innsbruck
Haus der Musik
19–21 November 2026
Call for papers
Human:Music:Environment
The idea of understanding music as a binding agent between humans and the environment encompasses a wide range of possible discussions from all areas of musicology. Music has always been used by humans as a medium of communication between the community and its environment. Flutes or pipes that imitate bird calls are not only used for hunting purposes, but also for aesthetic enjoyment or amusement. Music theories in ancient Greece, for example, or in ancient China, the Islamic Middle Ages, and Mesoamerican societies always connect the cosmic with the human. Such analogical conceptions, ranging from spherical harmonies to certain liturgical concepts to contemporary Neoplatonic ideas, are always based on the mediating function of music: the natural, such as animal sounds, geographies or mathematical forms, is made accessible through music, as is the supernatural: the animistically animated environment, the spirits and gods in their sacred places, or the universe itself.
The conference languages are English and German.
Formats:
Lecture (20 minutes plus 10 minutes of discussion),
round tables
panel discussions (max. 90 minutes including speeches).
Other discussion formats,
workshops or
lecture recitals
Please consult with the organising team when submitting your proposal.
Submissions:
Please send an abstract (max. 250 words) specifying the desired format, as well as a short biography (max. 100 words) by 30 April 2026 (Extended Deadline: 15. May 2026) to musikwissenschaft[at]uibk[dot]ac[dot]at.
Submissions will be reviewed anonymously. The programme committee will decide on acceptance and notify by 30 May 2026.