Call for Papers - Music in New Jersey

Locations and Dislocations: An Ecomusicological Conversation

April 8-10, 2016

Westminster Choir College of Rider University

Princeton, NJ

Deadline for proposals: December 1, 2015

“Locations and Dislocations: An Ecomusicological Conversation” seeks to bring together scholars, performers, and composers to further explore the relationships between music, culture, and the environment. The conference will tune to sounds as they fit or belong in the place they are heard, as they fit or belong in some other place, or as they have no ecological home, either built or natural. Among the questions at stake are those concerning how listeners (dis)locate sounds; how sounds both emanate from and shape their environments; what causes sounding bodies to locate, relocate, and dislocate; whether some sounds are un-locateable; and how technologies splice, combine, and compress sounds into new locations. Possible paper topics related to the theme might explore any of the following, as well as a number of other topics:

Music composed by combining built and natural sound sources
The changing environment around an unchanging sound
Outsourced musical labor
The migration of populations and their sounds/music in response to environmental catastrophe
Psychographic data that locates music-listening practices: when apps listen back
The sounds of populations biopolitically dislocated from vital resources
The relationship among sound, (dis)ability, and environments

The program committee welcomes submissions on any aspect of ecomusicology and from any academic discipline. The keynote speaker is composer Byron Au Yong (hearbyron.com). The son of immigrants, Au Yong’s music and music theatre works—which include site-specific collaborations—have extensively explored notions of “home” and “not home,” location and dislocation. We especially encourage proposals that relate of the theme of Locations and Dislocations and the works of Byron Au Yong. Submissions can be in one of four formats:

Panels (3-4 participants in a 90-minute session)
Individual Paper or Performance Lecture (20-minute presentation + 10-minute discussion)
Workshops (30-90 minutes)
Performance or Film (10-120 minutes)

All proposals must be submitted to Eric Hung (ehung@rider.edu) by 11:59pm EST on December 1, 2015 and follow the following guidelines:

The text of your email must include your name(s), title(s), affiliation(s), and contact information.
Your abstract must be anonymous and be in .pdf format.
1. Panel proposals should contain a 250-word (maximum) introduction to the panel, plus 250-word (maximum) abstracts that summarize the arguments, methods and findings for each contribution.
2. Individual paper proposals should contain a 250-word (maximum) abstract that summarizes the author’s arguments, methods and findings.
3. Workshop proposals should contain a 250-word (maximum) abstract that summarizes the aims, methods and significance of the proposed session. Please indicate the desired length of the workshop. Workshop proposals may include supplementary materials.
4. Performance or film proposals should contain a 250-word (maximum) abstract that summarizes your performance/film and explains how your contribution furthers our understanding of the relationship between music, culture and the environment. Please indicate the desired length of the performance/film. Performance/film proposals may include supplementary materials.
If you are submitting supplementary materials, please submit in .mp3 or .mp4 format. If you have a file that is over 10MB, please provide a web link.

The program committee will notify all applicants of its decisions by December 20. Questions about the conference should be directed to Eric Hung (ehung@rider.edu).