[Commlist] cfp: The Past, the Present and the Future of Popular Music Research in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe

International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM) invites 
you to the first international conference organised by the IASPM 
Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe Branch, to be held in Krakow, 
Poland, on 11-12 September 2025. The deadline for submissions is 31 
January, and you can find all the details below.

The Past, the Present and the Future of Popular Music Research in 
Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe
IASPM CESE 1st international conference, 11–12.09.2025

Organized by the International Association for the Study of Popular 
Music – Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe (IASPM CESE) at the 
Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.

IASPM’s Central, Eastern and Southeastern European branch invites 
submissions for its first international conference, focusing on the 
evolving landscape of popular music research in our region. As popular 
music continues to shape cultural narratives and social identities, we 
invite researchers from and of this part of Europe to contribute their 
(self-)reflections on the region’s historical contexts, contemporary 
practices, future directions, as well as on the ways in which their own 
work expands this field.

In 2024, the regional branch of the International Association for the 
Study of Popular Music, focusing on Central, Eastern and Southeastern 
Europe, was established. The event was motivated by the region’s 
exciting and varied history of popular music research. The creation of 
the branch was another important step in offering a platform for 
scholarly exchange, the sharing of experiences and methods, and 
discussions on shared legacies, especially in the environment where a 
number of crucial musical movements took place and influential scholars 
placed their analyses.

Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe has seen a variety of musical 
phenomena in the last century, which can be, and often are, the subject 
of insightful analyses. These studies contribute to the field, while 
providing a better understanding of the cultural environment of the 
region. The social impact of jazz music in the 1950s, the 
anti-establishment manifestos of punk and new wave in 1980s, the idea of 
popular music as a social signifier of 1990s, the usage of popular music 
in local politics, regional adaptations of rock, metal, hip-hop and 
electronic music after the end of the socialism, or even contemporary 
popularity of the folk-pop genres or popular indie rock – they all 
contributed to the way popular music is seen, practiced, consumed, and 
thought of in the region, as well as how this region is 
(self-)represented around the world.

Over the last few decades, historians, sociologists, anthropologists, 
ethnomusicologists, and, lastly, musicologists from the post-Soviet, 
ex-Yugoslav, ex-Eastern Bloc countries have started researching and 
teaching popular music at various university levels. Several 
associations for popular music studies have also been founded, and the 
network of scholars and common themes is getting more significant by the 
day. This includes Josef Kotek’s work in the Institute for Musicology, 
which constituted popular music studies in Czechoslovakia since the 
1960s, Wojciech Burszta’s contribution to this field in Poland since the 
1980s, Vesna Mikić and her Center for Popular Music Studies in Serbia in 
the 2010s, as well as Catherine Baker, Ljerka Vidić Rasmussen, Dean 
Vuletić, Radina Vučetić and many others. This ever-growing field of 
research is continuing its history with new initiatives and a younger 
generation of scholars, enriching and redefining what it means to study 
popular music in the region.

Therefore, we welcome contributions that address a range of themes, 
highlighting the inter- and multidisciplinary nature of popular music 
studies. We expect contributions from researchers specializing in the 
fields of aesthetics, anthropology, area studies, cultural and music 
geography, economics, ethnomusicology, history, literature studies, 
musicology, political sciences, sociology, and, of course, popular music 
studies both from the CESE region, but also all those interested in this 
part of Europe as a subject of studies.

With this variety of topics, the conference aims to emphasize the 
importance of a unique perspective of popular music research in the 
region, but also emphasize its ongoing projects and latest successes. 
Therefore, the conference welcomes both popular music research on the 
topic of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, and research 
concerning popular music in general from academics located in the region 
or having interest in it.

The following list of suggestions presents a potential list of subjects 
to be discussed during the conference:

History of popular music research in the CESE region
Historical perspectives on popular music in the region
Regional, contemporary trends in music production, consumption, and 
performance
The impact of digital platforms and streaming on music accessibility and 
diversity
Intersectionality in popular music, including gender, ethnicity, and 
socio-economic factors
The role of popular music in shaping cultural heritage and memory
Innovations in music technology and their implications for future research
The position of music from the region in the global music market
Submission details:

We encourage both individual papers and organized panels.

Individual abstracts should be 250-300 words, accompanied by a brief bio 
(100 words) and a list of relevant references (appx. 5).

Panel proposals should include a collective abstract and individual 
abstracts for all participants with their bios and general list of 
relevant references.

·         Deadline:  January 31, 2025

o   Acceptance of papers: February 28, 2025

·         Format:

o   Individual presentations: 20 minutes plus 10 minutes for discussion

o   Panels: 90 minutes for three presentations or two papers with a 
discussant

·         Please submit your abstracts: (iaspmcese /at/ gmail.com)

Each applicant should be a member of IASPM. Each accepted speaker will 
have an option to join the IASPM CESE branch during the conference.

In case of any questions, please contact IASPM CESE through general 
email ((iaspmcese /at/ gmail.com)) or Dr Maciej Smółka ((maciek.smolka /at/ uj.edu.pl)).


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