Feminist Theory and Music Conference | College of Arts

Feminist Theory and Music Conference

 

Call For Papers

 

Conference Dates: July 7-10, 2022

Location: University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Abstract Submission Date: September 15, 2021

 

In 1991, 184 people came together at the first Feminist Theory and Music conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota to discuss engagements with feminist and sexuality studies in music scholarship. According to Lydia Hamessley, the main organizer of that meeting, the isolation these founding participants felt led to FT&M1’s theme: Toward a Common Language. They sought a welcoming place for their ideas—they heard the first iterations of some of the central work in the field and some people forged collaborations and alliances that bore fruit for years. 

In this thirtieth anniversary year, FT&M16 continues the tradition of women-led and feminist-centered collaborations and alliances. In the wake of the profound transformations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing struggles for social justice, the theme for this conference will be “Connections.” We seek to foster and explore connections of all kinds—connections between people, between practitioners and academics, between generations, between the past and the present. 

As we embark on the next thirty years of feminist thought and action in music studies we acknowledge, also, that many iterations of feminist discourse, ideology, and practice have been broadly alienating, oppressive, and exclusionary. We assert that with new connections can come the rupture of old ways of being, knowing, and doing; we also claim that disruption and disconnection can be as generative and powerful as collaboration. For these reasons, we especially welcome the participation and perspectives of people who have been historically excluded or omitted from feminist spaces.

 

FT&M16 welcomes proposals for presentations that explore questions that include (but are not limited to):

  • In what ways are feminist approaches to music studies distinct? What are the core commitments and praxes of feminist music studies?
  • How might we constructively envision a more equitable, decolonial, and just future for engagements between feminist theory and music studies and practice?
  • What connections are there between contemporary political and social justice movements and the study and practice of music?
  • How do practitioners and scholars of music and sound arts live feminist lives? 
  • How do artists, activists, and scholars sound feminist ways of being, knowing, and doing?
  • How might feminist theory generate critical transformations in music and sound studies in particular, and in academic and industry spaces more generally?
  • What does decolonizing feminist music studies want? what does it take? what does it do? 
  • How do intersectional and critical race theory approaches to music and sound deepen our individual and collective feminist logics and practices? 
  • What is the significance of historic and present-day women-led and feminist-centered collaborations and alliances in music and sound?

 

We invite submissions from artists, activists, and scholars at any stage of their careers, including undergraduate and graduate students, and especially encourage submissions from people working outside of the academy. We welcome proposals for a range of presentation formats, including (but not limited to): 

  • Individual Papers (20 minutes)
    • 250-word abstract
  • Themed Panels of Papers (90 to 120 minutes)
    • 250-word abstract plus ~150-word abstracts from each proposed participant
  • Film/Media Screenings (45 minutes)
    • 250-word abstract
  • Performances or Lecture-Demonstrations (45 minutes)
    • 250-word abstract
  • Workshops (45 or 90 minutes)
    • 250-word abstracts
  • Roundtable Conversations (90 minutes)
    • 250-word roundtable abstract plus ~150-word abstracts from each proposed participant
  • Seminars with Pre-Conference Circulation of Materials (including multi-day discussions) (90 minutes/day; 1-3 days)
    • 250-word seminar abstract plus ~150-word abstract(s) for each day requested if more than one day

 

The committee understands that many people are not familiar with the norms of conference proposals. We offer consultation sessions via Zoom to anyone who would like mentoring or guidance through the process of writing and submitting their proposal during the week of August 23, 2021. More details about these consultations will be available on the FT&M16 website (https://www.uoguelph.ca/arts/ftm16) Please contact Kristen Turner, chair of the program committee, with any questions at femtheorymus16@gmail.com 

Kristen Turner, chair of the program committee, will be available via Zoom on Thursday, August 26 from 12 to 1 p.m. (EST) to consult with anyone who would like advice on crafting a proposal. If you would like to drop in, please email femtheorymus16@gmail.com for the address. If this time is not convenient, please email and we can set up another time.

Proposal guidelines:

All proposals should be submitted via this Google Form by 11:59 p.m. (EDT) on September 15, 2021. 

 

 

Program Committee 

Kristen Meyers Turner - Chair
North Carolina State University 

Tiffany Kuo
Mt. San Antonio College 

Rosheeka Parahoo
University of Western Ontario

Jessica Perea
University of California, Davis

Jennifer Szeto
Musique 3 Femmes 

Christi-Jay Wells
Arizona State University

 

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