[ecrea] CFP Songs of Social Protest

****CALL FOR PAPERS****

Songs of Social Protest



A two day symposium

Thursday 30th April & Friday 1st May 2015, University of Limerick, Ireland



Following on from successful symposia on The Smiths, Morrissey, Riot 
Grrrl and David Bowie, the research cluster ‘Popular Music and Popular 
Culture’, in conjunction with ‘Power, Discourse and Society’ at the 
University of Limerick, Ireland, now convene a two day symposium to 
examine songs of social protest from a global perspective.



An approach that takes into account the radical contexts of music is 
central to examining processes of empowerment and disempowerment in the 
current neoliberal age. Underpinned by a theoretical framework derived 
from the work of Stuart Hall, Richard Middleton, Ian Peddie, Serge 
Dennisoff, Philip Tagg, and Johnathan Friedman we take as our starting 
point that popular culture (in the broadest sense), and music in 
particular, may reproduce or challenge the cultural / political status 
quo in contemporary societies across the globe. In this 
interdisciplinary conference, we therefore particularly welcome papers 
that address (but are not limited to) the following:

·         What defines songs of social protest?

·         Can songs of social protest create change?

·         What makes a protest song efficacious?

·         What forms do the discursive constructions of protests take 
within song – i.e. what are the structures of feeling?

·         How is protest ‘performed’?

·         Can we map typologies of protest song?

·         Are particular music genres best suited to protest and if so, 
why and what are they?

·         How do songs of social protest address inequalities on the 
basis of ‘Race’, Class, Gender, Disability, Colonialism and 
Post-Colonialism, LGBTI identities, etc.

·         How do we talk about and assess the relationship between songs 
of social protest and social movements?

·         What informs discourses of  ‘authenticity’ in songs of social 
protest?

·         What are the musical roots of protest songs – Punk, Riot 
Grrrl, Folk, Oi! etc?

·         How do protest songs take on local and regional shape in 
different parts of the world?

·         What are the foci and impetuses of contemporary songs of 
social protest across the globe?

·         How can we trace (and critique) the social significance of 
commercial artists’ occasional forays into the ‘protest’ song genre?

·         Have particular artists’ (Bob Dylan, Swarathma, Billy Bragg, 
Las Cafeteras Saul Williams, Public Enemy, Kiyoshiro Imawano, Rage 
against the Machine, Piñata Protest, etc.) contributions made an impact 
of any social significance?

·         Do protest songs today need a music video to create an impact?

·         What are the different ways in which governments treat singers 
of social protest songs and how is that discursively framed in their 
respective media?



Please submit a Word document containing your paper title, a 250 word 
abstract, and author information including full name, institutional 
affiliation, email address, and a 50-word bio to 
(popmusicandculture /at/ ul.ie) by 9th January 2015. A maximum of 30 minutes 
will be allocated to each conference paper (20 minutes for presentation 
and 10 minutes for questions). Panel proposals (three presenters - 90 
minutes) should include a 150 word overview and 250 word individual 
abstracts (plus author information listed above). We also welcome 
proposals for workshops, film screenings, performances etc.  
Notifications regarding acceptance will be sent by January 30th 2015.





Planned Academic Outputs:

The organisers are editors of the Discourse, Power, and Society book 
series published by Rowman & Littlefield International. It is their 
intention to propose an edited collection arising from fully revised 
papers initially presented at this symposium to the publisher as part of 
that series. It is also envisaged that symposium outputs will include a 
special issue of a journal.



Symposium Conveners:

Dr. Martin Power, Dept. of Sociology, University of Limerick.

Dr. Aileen Dillane, Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University 
of Limerick.

Dr. Eoin. Devereux, Dept. of Sociology, University of Limerick.
Dr Amanda Haynes, Dept. of Sociology, University of Limerick.



For further information please contact: (popmusicandpopculture /at/ ul.ie)





‘Popular Music and Popular Culture’ and ‘Power, Discourse and Society’ 
are interdisciplinary research clusters based at the University of 
Limerick, Ireland, which provide a platform for researchers working 
within sociology, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, sociolinguistics, 
political science, education, and social geography to come together to 
advance their shared interest in the critical analysis of popular music, 
popular culture and public discourses and the elucidation of their 
social meaning, significance and material impacts.





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