[Commlist] CfP: Popular Music, Populism and Nationalism in Contemporary Europe conference

*CfP: Popular Music, Populism and Nationalism in Contemporary Europe*
University of Oldenburg (Germany), 07–09 April 2022

_Organisation: _Prof. Dr. Mario Dunkel, Reinhard Kopanski, Simon Wehber 
(University of Oldenburg; Faculty III; Department of Music).

_Deadline for submitting proposals: _*15^th November 2021*

It is undisputed that the recent rise of populist-nationalist and 
far-right parties poses a challenge to democracies, not exclusively, but 
also in the European Union. However, “populism’s toxic embrace of 
nationalism,” as Lawrence Rosenthal calls it, is more than a 
party-political or economic phenomenon. It also has a cultural 
dimension, which remains largely unexplored. Regarding music as a 
ubiquitous cultural practice, this conference addresses this cultural 
dimension from three music-oriented perspectives:

First, we examine the ways in which European populist and nationalist 
parties and political actors employ musical strategies. What are the 
repertoires mobilized by populist and nationalist parties in European 
contexts? What musical icons and musicians do parties associate with, 
and what are the purposes of these associations? How does music function 
at party events? Is there such a thing as a transnational 
populist-nationalist campaign strategy regarding the use of music? And 
to what extent are the strategies of political parties efficient?

Second, the political significance of music is not limited to its 
function in party politics. Indeed, populism and nationalism are both 
performative phenomena (Moffitt, Stavrakakis) articulated in the realm 
of musical practices whose political function may not always be 
discernible. Questions that need to be asked in this area of inquiry 
include: What are populist and nationalist musical performances in 
popular culture? To what extent do musical developments (such as the 
rise in popularity of neo-folk, turbo-folk, disco-polo, Deutschrock, 
neo-schlager, etc.) enable nationalist and populist performances? How do 
we address the affective dimensions of these musics? How do people 
experience and interpret performances of populism and nationalism?

Third, as popular music is often received as one aspect of intermedial 
performances (in music videos, films, computer games, in social 
networks, etc.), we also need to address the intermedial and digital 
dimension of populist and nationalist performances. Studies of the use 
of social media by political parties have demonstrated the extent to 
which some populist-nationalist parties dominate certain types of social 
media. To what extent is this true of populist-leaning musicians? Is 
there such a thing as an intermedial populist or nationalist aesthetic? 
To what extent do populist and nationalist performances employ 
strategies such as transmedia storytelling?

Lastly, the field of popular music and populism in contemporary Europe 
has been heavily impacted by the Covid-19-pandemic. Government measures 
to contain the pandemic – as well as protests against these measures – 
have contributed to shaping music cultures on various economic, 
political, social, media and cultural levels. In particular, the 
pandemic has resulted in the rise of conspiracism, also in popular music 
cultures. What is the role of conspiracism in the recent rise of 
populism and nationalism in Europe? And to what extend do popular music 
cultures facilitate and critique conspiracism?

We invite *suggestions for 20-minute presentations*. Additionally, there 
is a possibility to *propose 90-minute workshops *to address problems 
such as challenges of populism and popular music for aesthetic 
educational work. The conference language is English. Please send 
abstracts (max. 300 words for presentations, 900 words for workshops) 
along with a short CV (50 words), academic affiliation and contact 
information to Mario Dunkel ((mario.dunkel /at/ uol.de) 
<mailto:(mario.dunkel /at/ uol.de)>) and Reinhard Kopanski 
((reinhard.kopanski /at/ uol.de) <mailto:(reinhard.kopanski /at/ uol.de)>).

The conference is part of the international and interdisciplinary 
project “Popular Music and the Rise of Populism in Europe” – funded by 
the Volkswagen Foundation since 2019. Information on the project as well 
as an expanded version of the CfP can be found on our website: 
www.musicandpopulism.eu <http://www.musicandpopulism.eu/>

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