[Commlist] CFP: Music and Mediation Conference, University of Adelaide

*Call for Papers *

*Music and Mediation*

Conference at the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide

*9-10 June 2025*

*Keynote speaker: Naomi Sunderland, Director, Creative Arts Research 
Institute, Griffith University*

*Deadline for abstracts: Monday 16 December 2024*

Mediation, in all its senses, from transmission to conflict resolution, 
is particularly relevant in times of technological innovation, 
sustainability challenges, forced displacement and struggles for 
equality or survival. This conference, generously supported by the 
Musicological Society of Australia (MSA), is concerned with the ways 
music and the study of music may contribute to the many theories and 
practices around mediation.

We invite proposals from all disciplines, for panels, individual papers 
and roundtable discussions addressing one or more of these themes:

1. *Music and conflict resolution*

What roles can music play in contexts of conflict, post-conflict and the 
negotiation of improved relations and potential healing? From 
interpersonal relationships to community divisions, industrial relations 
and postwar societies, music may enable the articulation of unspoken 
emotions and the promotion of mutual understanding and recognition. Is 
‘resolution’ always possible or are there other ways of surviving 
conflict and trauma with or through music?

2. *Sustaining and building connections through music*

How does music contribute to connections – or disconnections – across 
space and time? When relationships are disrupted, e.g. by migration, 
displacement or social change, how do musical practices sustain those 
relationships and/or build new connections with people and places? 
Related topics include the roles of music in cultural traditions, 
memory, environmental sustainability, sociopolitical movements, 
community health and wellbeing.

3. *Transmission and pedagogy of music*

New technologies and mobilities have made some music more accessible in 
more places than ever before. What are the effects and conditions of 
this accessibility? Is ‘other’ music overlooked in the process? How are 
musical ideas mediated? What are the roles of technology, media, 
composition, performance, instrument/equipment design, venues, 
infrastructure and educational methods?

4. *Cultural mediation*

What mediating roles does music play in literature, theatre, film, 
television, radio, audio/visual arts and gaming? How do interactive 
cultural forms shape related musical practices? How does music shape and 
contribute to translations and adaptations?

5. *Influencing*

Music and dance are central features in the world of influencing, from 
social media and advertising to government and election campaigns. How 
do music and dance ‘influence’ listeners and viewers in such areas as 
lifestyle, fashion, body image, spending habits, voting practices and 
political action?

6. *Histories*

Music histories enjoy great popularity, from biopics, curated playlists, 
tributes and social media galleries to memoirs, authorised and 
unauthorised biographies and analytical accounts. What forms of 
mediation emerge from historical analysis, narratives about music and 
musical narratives?

7*. Entanglements*

Are notions of music and mediation problematic? Since Adorno, scholars 
have devised many new ways of understanding music’s multiple 
entanglements. Topics may include music and accountability, materiality, 
relationality, constellations and the destabilisation of boundaries.

8. *Other*: new research beyond the above categories.

*Submit proposals **here* 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScPcN6xY_ooX1k8oU9tRctII1rmfMbUToAKx2DaNwyUUDqMeg/viewform> 
for panels (3 or 4 presenters), individual papers, roundtable 
discussions or workshops. For individual papers and for each presenter 
on a panel, a 250-word abstract is required. For roundtable discussions 
and workshops, one abstract is required for the whole session. Papers 
will be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes’ Q&A. Online 
participation is available.

*Deadline for abstracts: Monday 16 December 2024 *

Notification of acceptance: Monday 30 December 2024

*Registration*: Salaried academics: A$ 88 [= approximately US$ 59, EUR 54]

Registration for all other delegates is free, thanks to the support of 
the MSA and the Elder Conservatorium of Music. Registration includes 
morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea on both days.

*Publication*: Presenters will be invited to submit article proposals 
for a special issue of a journal.

*Keynote speaker Professor Naomi Sunderland* is Director of the Creative 
Arts Research Institute at Griffith University. She is a proud 
descendant of the Wiradjuri First Nations People of Australia alongside 
her mixed European heritage. Naomi has an expansive research and 
publishing record in arts-health, well-being, and First Nations social 
justice with a particular focus on creative, anti-oppressive, and 
trauma-informed research approaches.

More invited speakers and special guests to be announced soon!

*Enquiries*: Please email the convenor, Gay Breyley, at 
(gay.breyley /at/ adelaide.edu.au) <mailto:(gay.breyley /at/ adelaide.edu.au)>.

This event is generously supported by the Musicological Society of 
Australia’s Special Funding Scheme. The conference stems from a research 
project that is generously supported by the Elizabeth Wood Research 
Fellowship in Musicology at the Elder Conservatorium of Music.



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