4th Global Series Conference
Music &....Society
15th to 16th July 2019
Verona, Italy

“Music is the melody whose text is the world.” —Arthur Schopenhauer
“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” — Maya Angelou

Music is integral to our lives. It gives voice to the feelings and thoughts that cannot be spoken. It has been used on battlefields as well as battles for the heart. It can heal and comfort as well as engender anger and hatred. It has been blamed for mass shootings as well as credited for bringing huge crowds together. It can reinforce cultural mores or break the rules. It fosters connections with the sacred and the profane. It is all around us.

Music speaks volumes where words fail us and can be a conduit for communication between individuals, groups, entire countries, and through time. Musicians, songs and styles of music transcend national boundaries and speak across the generations. Precisely because the meanings and implications of music are not limited to specific professions this project invites inclusive interdisciplinary approaches to making sense of the way music impacts our lives.

We welcome contributions on themes such as, but not limited to music and…

~ Human relationships and emotions (desire/love/lust, breaking up, parenthood, friendship, spirituality, etc.)
~ Non-humans (animals, plants, etc.)
~ Health and wellness (clinical practices, therapeutic approaches, meditation other self-help approaches, psychological/physiological/neurological effects of music)
~ Education (erasure of music from the curriculum, approaches to teaching music/music appreciation, music as learning tool)
~ Law (copyright, intellectual property, censorship, NGOs and unions supporting musicians’ rights)
~ Social welfare (music in social programs, public support for music-oriented activities, philanthropic support for music)
~ Technologies (innovation supporting the making, distributing, sharing, and experiencing of music)
~ Business (music industry trends, popularity/marketability of certain types of music, experiences of musicians, use of music in advertising, etc.)
~ Indigenous cultures (music and rituals, storytelling, etc.)
~ Protest (anti-war songs, songs about political issues, songs about socio-cultural attitudes/practices)
~ War (songs as propaganda, military songs/marches, music for the homefront, songs about war)
~ Identity (nationalism, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, class, etc.)
~ Other arts and media (film, tv, video, gaming, art, dance, theatre, poetry, literature, etc.)
~ Genres (trends, composers, performers)


For the 2019 meeting we are particularly interested in exploring music in the context of personal relationships with a view to forming a publication to engender further collaboration and discussion. The relationship between music and human emotion is varied and complex. From pop culture’s love songs to folk and blues, to chansons of unrequited love and songs of historical import, the drama of opera’s arias, through to music as a vehicle for expressing hate and conflict, music narrates the deepest experiences of humanity. Paradoxically, love music can express hate – for example in expressing jealousy – hate music can express not only anger and racial hatred, it can also express love. We warmly welcome contributions which explore the themes of music, love, hate and the emotions across all disciplines, professions and practices.


What to Send
The aim of this interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event is to bring people together and encourage creative conversations in the context of a variety of formats: papers, seminars, workshops, storytelling, performances, poster presentations, panels, q&a’s, roundtables etc.
300 word proposals, presentations, abstracts and other forms of contribution and participation should be submitted by Friday 22nd February 2019. Other forms of participation should be discussed in advance with the Organising Chair.

All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Development Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday 8th March 2019.

If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday 31st May 2019.

Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order:
a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.

E-mails should be entitled: Music and Society Submission.

Early Bird Submission and Discount
Submissions received on or before Friday 18th January 2019 will be eligible for a 10% registration fee discount.

Where to Send
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:

Dr Niall Scott: NWRScott@uclan.ac.uk
Project Administrator: veronamusic@progressiveconnexions.net

What’s so Special About Progressive Connexions Events?
A fresh, friendly, dynamic format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off PowerPoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and round tables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere.

A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them.

A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed.

An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity.

An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are suited to the history and culture of the event.

Ethos
Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation.

Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.

Enquiries: veronamusic@progressiveconnexions.net

Web address: http://www.progressiveconnexions.net/interdisciplinary-projects/music-and/music-society/conferences/

Sponsored by: Progressive Connexions