Registration is now open for the BFE Annual Conference 2019 in Aberdeen. Please follow the link below in order to register:

https://bfe2019.wordpress.com/registration/

Call for Papers

British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference 2019

11–14 April 2019, The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, Scotland

As with all BFE Annual Conferences, we welcome papers and panels on any aspect of current ethnomusicological research. 

The 2019 theme will be Collaborative Ethnomusicology

In recent years, the focus of ethnomusicological research and dissemination has become increasingly centred on the ways in which ethnomusicologists have been able to work in collaboration with the practitioners who they study. This has also had an effect on the ways in which research findings are presented. Is it still acceptable to focus solely on the academic monograph or article publication, or should we be paying more attention to presenting our research to a wider audience, in more accessible formats and language? How have we, as ethnomusicologists, been bridging the gap between the academic and performance contexts in which practitioners operate, and in what ways have we successfully given back to the communities in which we have conducted fieldwork? The aim of this conference is to discuss the ways in which we have, and can, collaborate with practitioners, cultural groups, and academics. What kinds of issues might come into play regarding power relations and hierarchy, and how has reciprocity featured within and as a result of these collaborations? How have we moved beyond the academy and the discipline in terms of collaboration and dissemination, and how have we moved forward in terms of conducting fieldwork and negotiating our roles as both researchers and performers? As well as dealing with issues concerning the dissemination of research and fieldwork collaborations, this conference will also consider the idea of collaboration and music much more broadly. How might we approach, understand and theorize intercultural collaborations? What can we learn from less successful attempts at collaboration, and projects aimed at a commercial market?

We invite you to submit proposals for papers, panels, roundtables, posters, and films on any aspect of ethnomusicological research. We particularly invite proposals that focus on:

• Collaborative fieldwork 
• The ethnomusicology of exchange
• Ethnomusicology and reciprocity
• Dissemination of material beyond academia
• Reflections on working as both a performer and researcher in the field
• ‘Doing’ fieldwork
• Intercultural music projects and the politics of collaboration 
• Collaboration in the ‘world music’ industry 
• Ethnomusicology and advocacy
• The role of the archive as a repository of community memory
• Successful and unsuccessful collaborations
• Practice-based research and collaboration with performers
• The place of performance in ethnomusicology
• Interdisciplinary collaboration

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 14 SEPTEMBER 2018. Successful applicants will be notified in October. Please note that all presenters must be members of the BFE ( https://bfe.org.uk/join-bfe)

Proposals are invited for:

• Papers (20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions)
• Collaborative presentations (or combination of two papers, one from an ethnomusicologist and one from a practitioner they work with)
• Panels (3 or 4 linked papers around a theme, totalling 1.5 or 2 hours)
• Round tables (3 or 4 shorter presentations, around 15 minutes each, followed by a chaired discussion, totalling 1.5 or 2 hours)
• Lightening talks (7-minute unscripted talks, usually accompanied by slides)
• Posters
• Films or other media presentations

 Paper and panel abstracts should be submitted to bfeaberdeen2019gmail.com

. Use the following formats to enable anonymous review:

• Paper proposals: include the name and email address of the proposer, paper title, and abstract (the latter not exceeding 250 words). The name of the proposer should not appear in the body of the abstract.
• Organised session proposals: include the names and email addresses of the proposer and the other participants, a title and overall abstract for the session (not exceeding 250 words), and abstracts for each contributor (no more than 250 words each). The names of the proposer and participants should not appear in the body of the abstracts.
• Roundtable proposals: include the names and email addresses of the proposer and the other participants (the proposer will be assumed to be the chair unless stated otherwise), a title and overall abstract for the roundtable (not exceeding 250 words), and abstracts for each contributor (no more than 250 words each). The names of the proposer and participants should not appear in the body of the abstracts.
• Poster proposals: include the name and email address of the researcher, poster title, and a description of the material to be presented (not exceeding 250 words). The name of the proposer should not appear in the description.
• Proposals for films or other media presentations: include the name and email of the proposer, title of film/presentation, abstract (not exceeding 250 words), and length of film/presentation. The name of the proposer should not appear in the body of the abstract.

BFE Student Prize and Bursaries

Student presenters are encouraged to submit their papers for the BFE Student Prize (https://bfe.org.uk/bfe-student-prize), awarded annually for the best student paper presented at the BFE annual conference. Students may also apply for a BFE Bursary to assist with the cost of attending the conference. Details concerning the prize and bursaries will be circulated closer to the conference date.