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MUSIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

The 28th National Conference of the Musicological Society of Australia, co-hosted by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, The University of Sydney and the Sydney Chapter of the Musicological Society of Australia, will be held from Wednesday, 28 September to Saturday, 1 October 2005 at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. The conference, featuring paper presentations, round table sessions, panels, lecture recitals and concerts, will be based around the theme of ‘Music and Social Justice’.

Nor you ye poor of lettered scorn complain,
To you the smoothest song is smooth in vain;
O’ercome by labour, and bowed down by time,
Feel you the barren flattery of a rhyme?
Can poets soothe you, when you pine for bread
By winding myrtles round your ruined shed?
Can their light tales your weighty griefs o’erpower,
Or glad with airy mirth the toilsome hour?
—from Rural Life by George Crabbe (1754-1832)

These lines of George Crabbe pose, as well as any, the questions which this conference seeks to explore and also illustrate the dangers that can arise when artistic language, either intentionally or unintentionally, gilds, deflects or neutralises the social concern it wishes to express. This conference seeks to explore ways in which music has interacted with issues of social justice and to bring to the forefront ethical issues for those working in the aesthetic realm.

Submissions for papers, round table sessions, panels and lecture recitals in all areas of music research and practice, including historical and popular musicology, ethnomusicology, music education, music technology, performance, composition, music psychology and music perception are welcome. Themed papers may, for instance, address areas such as music and protest, the music of oppressed peoples, music and terrorism, music and cultural hegemony, music and colonialism, music and imperialism, music and war, racism, gender, sexuality and music, music and empowerment, music and imprisonment or detention, music and social change, music and the law, concepts of copyright, intellectual property and indigenous rights, performers’ and composers’ moral rights and issues of music recording, free trade and globalisation. Abstracts for papers and sessions on topics outside the conference theme are also welcome.

Paper and Session Proposals
• Proposers of individual papers must submit an abstract of 250 words. Individual papers must be no longer than 20 minutes. The proposal must specify the paper title, author’s name and location/institutional affiliation, email or other contact address, and all required equipment (such as piano, overhead projector, CD/DVD player etc.) Please note that Internet access will not be available for presentations. Any presenters planning PowerPoint or other computer presentations must specify this in their proposal submissions and will be expected to bring overhead transparencies as back up.

• The program committee welcomes group submissions on a common theme. These may be given either as a round table or panel session (maximum 90 minutes) or as 3 to 4 papers grouped around a common topic. Proposals for group submissions must provide the name and contact details of the organiser and a list of committed participants. Separate abstracts must be included for each contribution.

• Participants interested in presenting lecture recitals (maximum 40 minutes) must submit a 250-word abstract, recital program and lecture outline. All equipment necessary for the recital must be specified in the proposal. The Program Committee reserves the right to request additional information from lecture recital proposers in order to determine whether the lecture recital will be appropriate for the conference.

• Proposals may be submitted by email, regular mail or by fax by 31 March 2005. Notification of acceptance will be made by 30 April 2005. Proposers who require earlier notification for funding purposes should contact the conference convenors.

• Authors of accepted papers and those intending to participate in accepted sessions must be members of the MSA at the time of the Conference. Membership information can be found on the MSA website at http://www.msa.org.au/join.html

Inquiries should be directed to the Conference Convenors Jennie Shaw and Peter McCallum at conference@msa.org.au. Further details will be available on the MSA website, the MSA E-News Bulletin and in the next issue of the MSA Newsletter.

Conference address for submissions
Email: conference@msa.org.au If you experience difficulties sending your abstract to conference@msa.org.au please try submitting to jshaw@conmusic.usyd.edu.au or fax your submission to:
Fax: +612 9351 1287

Postal Address:
MSA Conference
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The University of Sydney C41
Sydney 2006, Australia.