Music and Movement

British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference 2023
Reid School of Music,
Celtic & Scottish Studies and the School of Scottish Studies Archives, University of Edinburgh

1316 April 2023

 

Call for Papers

The 2023 theme will be Music and Movement. Presentations of any new research are also welcome, whether these engage with the theme or not.

Movement, as both idea and practice, is woven into music at all levels. Vibrations in the air, the gestures of performers, the technology of instruments, the moving bodies of dancers, listeners and other participants all are constitutive elements within different musicking experiences. For ethnomusicologists, central also are the migration and dialogue of musical styles, texts, and musicians back and forth across geographies and temporalities.

We invite proposals that engage with this theme, conceived broadly and with an emphasis on imaginative connections. Ethnomusicology has for some time taken movements of people and music as one of its core concerns, but we also urge presenters to consider other aspects of movement: the physical body and/or instrument; the affective dimension (‘moving’ music); movement across time; as well as restrictions on movement (both physical and political) and coerced movement, in the case of conflict or catastrophe.

A partial and non-exhaustive list of possible topics might include:

  • -  physical/embodied movement and music

  • -  representations of movement within music

  • -  movement and identity, or movements of identity

  • -  the effects of migration and/or displacement upon musical style and repertoire

  • -  the movement of instruments, traditions, repertoires

  • -  the movement of materials, archives, or music away from their place of origin (and the

    return of these materials)

  • -  interdisciplinary collaborations (e.g. with acousticians, engineers, dancers or theatre

    practitioners)

  • -  restricted mobilities

    As with all BFE annual conferences, we also welcome proposals related to all aspects of ethnomusicological research, including those not informed by the conference theme.

    DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS 14 NOVEMBER 2022. Successful applicants will be notified in December. Please note that all presenters must be 2023 members of the BFE (i.e. members at the time of the conference).

    Proposals are invited for:

  • Papers (20 minutes with 10 minutes for questions)

  • Panels (3 or 4 linked papers around a theme, totalling 1.5 or 2 hours)

  • Roundtables (3 or 4 shorter presentations, around 15 minutes each, followed by a chaired

    discussion, totalling 1.5 or 2 hours)

  • Performance-based presentations (either individual 45-minute presentations or a themed panel)

  • Posters

  • Films or other media presentations

    The committee also encourages proposals that use any of the above as the basis for collaborative presentations. These might be collaborations amongst ethnomusicologists, or between ethnomusicologists and practitioners, performers, or other research participants. Possible formats include any of the above or could take a more workshop-based approach, and may also include an online dimension. Research participants do not need to be members of the BFE. Please contact bfe2023ated.ac.uk to discuss possible options.

    Proposals should be submitted through the online form here (address repeated below). Use the following formats to enable anonymous review:

  • Paper proposals: include the name and email address of the proposer/s, paper title, and abstract (the latter not exceeding 250 words). The name of the proposer/s 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.

  • Performance-based proposals. These may be lecture-recitals, collaborations specifically created for the conference, or any other form of presentation that includes a significant element of performance. It is expected that lecture-recitals and similar will be 45 minutes in duration (including questions), and we welcome innovative or unusual formats. Include the names and email addresses of the proposer and the other participants, a title and description of the session (not exceeding 250 words).

  • 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.

    Remote participation

    Having been prevented from meeting in-person for the past few years, the Committee are very keen to make this as much of a collegiate, in-the-room event as possible. The conversations, networking, and socialising that happens around and outside of official presentations are, we feel, an integral and vital part of conference life, and we therefore encourage everyone wherever possible to participate in-person.

At the same time, we recognise that overseas participants may be unwilling to travel for environmental reasons, and equally that financial constraints on some participants may make in- person attendance difficult (although students and scholars requiring financial support to attend; please see below regarding bursaries).

In light of the above, we are currently discussing options in order to most effectively facilitate online participation (including socialising and networking) for those unable to attend in-person. All applicants must therefore indicate either ‘I will attend in person’ or ‘I will attend online’. All sessions, including organised sessions and roundtables, will be either entirely in person or entirely online.

BFE Bursaries and Student Prize

We invite presenters and attendees who are students, who are BIPOC scholars, or who are unable to pay fees because of severe economic, political or other constraints to apply for a number of bursaries to help defray the costs of attending the conference. These comprise a subsidy for in- person presenters and a waiver of the conference registration fee for online presenters and attendees.

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.

Details concerning the prize and bursaries will be circulated on the BFE email list closer to the conference date.

Conference Code of Conduct

BFE conferences are run in accordance with the BFE Conference Code of Conduct. By taking part in a BFE conference, you agree to be bound by this code.

 

 

 

Call for papers deadline: 
14 Nov 2022
Conference dates: 
13 Apr 2023 to 16 Apr 2023
Venue: 
University of Edinburgh