[ecrea] CFP: "Music and the Sacred"

To remind you of the forthcoming conference "Music and the Sacred" in 
Helsinki, Finland, in November, for which there is still time to submit 
proposals. The call can be found at 
http://www.etnomusikologia.fi/p/esitelmapyynnot.html and may be 
 forwarded freely to all interested parties.

If you have any questions, please contact (musicandthesacred /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(musicandthesacred /at/ gmail.com)>

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 Music and the Sacred
12–14 November 2018, Helsinki, Finland

Call for Papers and Presentations

The Finnish Society for Ethnomusicology and the Finnish Society for 
Hymnology and Liturgy hereby invite submissions for the conference 
”Music and the Sacred”. In the conference, the aim is to address the 
various ways in which music intersects with sacred phenomena, and vice 
versa. This entails acknowledging the multidimensionality of both music 
and the sacred, and how music becomes sacralised in diverse ways and how 
the sacred becomes reconceptualised in musical contexts. A crucial point 
of departure for the conference is to understand the sacred not only as 
a religious idea but also as a broader conceptual field that, in the 
words of Gordon Lynch, pertains to “what people collectively experience 
as absolute, non-contingent realities which present normative claims 
over the meaning and conduct of social life” (The Sacred in the Modern 
World, 2012). In music, alongside explicitly religious songs and tunes, 
clearest examples include national anthems and other national(istic) 
forms of music, as well as ubiquitous ideas about music’s transcendental 
qualities and effects.

The topic relates also to recent discussions over multiculturalism and 
postsecularity, both of which imply a change towards a more diverse 
religious and spiritual cultural environment. While multiculturalism is 
associated with the spread of conventional religions, postsecularity in 
turn may be understood as the possibility to broaden the ethics and 
values of modernist secular states through world’s religions, 
traditional cultures and various alternative spiritualities. While there 
is ample literature on “rescripting the sacred”, as it were, in relation 
to these societal and cultural shifts, music features surprisingly 
rarely in these accounts. To emphasise the importance of music in the 
current conditions of religious diversity and re-enchantment, 
submissions dealing with the following themes, among other relevant 
ones, are invited:

    musics within religious institutions and otherwise organised 
religions and religious movements;
    religiosity in music;
    “sacred” music in relation to its “mundane”, “profane”, “secular” 
or “unholy” counterparts;
    the importance of religious doctrines for definitions of music;
    origin myths and other forms of mythologisation of music;
    ideologies of musical autonomy and authenticity;
    stars and geniouses, fan(atic)s and aficionados;
    music and sub-/occultures;
    national(istic) musics;
    music, racialisation and racism;
    music, the sacred and gender;
    music and indigenous belief systems;
    music and paganism;
    canonisation and other forms of historiographical sanctification of 
music;
    music and dark tourism;
    music and sacred spaces;
    sacred politics of music;
    music, the sacred and freedom of expression;
    music, censorship and moral panics;
    music and totalitarianism.

The organisers welcome proposals for individual 20-minute presentations, 
entire 90-minute sessions and 45-minute lecture-recitals. Alternative 
presentation formats will be considered. Proposals from Master’s 
students are also welcome.

The proposals shall include the following information:

    the title of the presentation/session;
    the name(s), position(s) and affiliation(s) of the presenter(s);
    an abstract not exceeding 300 words (in case of sessions, please 
indicate individual topics if appropriate).

The proposals shall be sent preferably in pdf to 
(musicandthesacred /at/ gmail.com) no later than 20 April 2018. Letters of 
confirmation will be sent by 31 May 2018.

The participation fee for the conference is EUR 60 (no concessions). 
Members of the organising societies are exempt from the fee.

The conference will be honoured with guest lectures by Professor Philip 
V. Bohlman (University of Chicago), Professor Hannu Salmi (University of 
Turku) and Senior Lecturer Abigail Wood (University of Haifa). The 
conference is supported financially by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation.

All correspondence regarding the conference should be directed to 
(musicandthesacred /at/ gmail.com).

The organising committee

Chair: Antti-Ville Kärjä (Music Archive Finland)
Secretary: Tuomas Auvinen (University of Turku)
Heidi Haapoja-Mäkelä (University of Helsinki)
Elina Hytönen-Ng (University of Eastern Finland)
Samuli Korkalainen (Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki)
Saijaleena Rantanen (Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts 
Helsinki)
Pekka Toivanen (University of Jyväskylä)

welcomes you to the conference!
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