[Commlist] Popular Music Methodologies Conference

Call for Papers – Popular Music Methodologies Conference

Middlesex University, London, UK.

18th – 19th June 2026

Following the publication, in 2025, of The Intellect Handbook of Popular 
Music Methodologies, edited by Mike Dines, Shara Rambarran and Gareth 
Dylan Smith, a hybrid conference will be held at Middlesex University in 
June 2026 to continue the discussion. The Popular Music Methodologies 
Conference will address the diverse ways we study, interpret and engage 
with popular music methodologies, bringing together researchers, 
scholars, practitioners and students across the disciplines and field 
that enable us to reflect on the tools, theories, and practices that 
currently shape the research of popular music.

Popular Music Studies resists easy categorization, drawing upon a broad 
range of research methodologies, from ethnography, archival research and 
oral history to computational analysis, performance studies, and a wide 
variety of practice-based research. Within this set of activities, the 
application of approaches from sociology, cultural studies, critical 
race theory, sound studies, gender and queer theory and global media 
studies continue to transform how popular music may be understood. To 
address such diversity in methodologies, the conference aims to create 
an inclusive space where these can be interrogated.
To continue the vibrant and critical conversation about the evolving 
methodologies of popular music studies, we invite you to join us in 
shaping this dynamic field further. We therefore welcome papers, panels, 
and alternative-format presentations on topics including, but not 
limited to:

•	Innovations in methods for studying popular music in digital and 
global contexts
•	The intersections of theory and practice in popular music research
•	Creative, practice-based, and interdisciplinary approaches
•	Methodological challenges in oral history, (online) ethnography, 
videography, video analysis and archival work
•	Ethics, access, and positionality in popular music scholarship


Specific topics may address:
•	Popular music and AI
•	Platformisation
•	Zoo-musicology
•	Eco-semiotics
•	Gaming
•	Gender/queer studies
•	Digital performance
•	Popular music and archaeology
•	Artistic research and practice-based research
•	Sustainability and climate change

We propose to publish the conference proceedings alongside plans to 
establish an academic network to foster scholarly collaboration in 
popular music methodologies.

Abstracts of 250 words for individual papers (20 minutes) and 500 words 
for panels, roundtables or workshops (60 minutes) should be submitted by 
1st February 2026 to (m.dines /at/ mdx.ac.uk). Please also include a short 
biography (150 words max).

Dr. Mike Dines, Middlesex University, UK
Dr. Shara Rambarran, University of Brighton, UK
Professor Michael Ahlers, Leuphana University, Germany
Professor Alethea de Villiers, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
Dr. Eulàlia Febrer-Coll, Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR), Spain
Associate Professor Patryk Galuszka, University of Lodz, Poland
Dr. Brian Andrew Inglis, Middlesex University, UK
Professor Michael Kahr, JAM MUSIC LAB Private University for Jazz and 
Popular Music, Austria
Professor Hillegonda Rietveld, London Southbank University, UK
Dr Hüseyin Serbes, Middlesex University, UK
Associate Professor Simone Tosoni, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 
Italy
Carsten Wernicke, Leuphana University, Germany
Professor Wolf-Georg Zaddach, Macromedia University, Germany

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