Panel: Music, Sound, and Power in Contemporary Places of Detention: Ethno-Activist Approaches in Ireland, Greece, Norway
Áine Mangaoang | Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Popular Music, University of Oslo
Eileen Hogan and Caitríona Ní Laoire | School of Applied Social Studies and Institute for the Social Sciences in the 21st Century (ISS21), University College Cork
Tom Western | Marie Curie Fellow, Department of Musicology, University of Oslo // Research Associate, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Music | Politics | Power conference
Keynote Address: Professor Kay Kaufman Shelemay, G. Gordon Watts Professor of Music at Harvard University
Borders, unity and separatism, fake news, propaganda, political balances of power – all
quotidian terms in our media and conversations. But, what of the role of music?
Throughout history music has been a pivotal factor in sounding the nation, the
resistance and the new. Music provides a sonic link to the historic past, summoned to
generate a sense of belonging. Music identifies, excludes and defines. In the Irish
context, musical performances were key to the national centenary celebrations in 2016,
marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising. Some of those revolutionaries were
also musicians who viewed music, language, culture and politics as essential
components of being ‘Irish’ and of national freedom. These celebrations also provoked
much debate on the nature of society today. How do we support marginalised groups
and to what extent is music a barrier or indeed a sonic path for new groups in society to
build and maintain a sense of community and identity? We invite scholars to consider
the nature of power and politics in the music they study. To what extent are musicians,
indeed ethnomusicologists activists for social justice or advocates for marginalised
communities? How do politics and (cultural) policies impact musical expression and
practices? How does music contest, negotiate or represent community/nation/idea?
Who are the activists and cultural leaders that sound the future?