The Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic, the Eduardo León Jimenes Cultural Center (Centro León) and the Institute of Caribbean Studies (INEC) announce the International Conference “The Bolero in Caribbean Culture and Its Worldwide Circulation,” to be celebrated April 17, 18, and 19, 2009, in the facilities of the Centro León, in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic.
This is the third edition of the conference Music, Identity, and Culture in the Caribbean (MIC), which has been declared an “Event of High Cultural Interest” by the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic.
The initiation of the third conference was officially announced on September 22, 2008, in a public event organized by the three institutions, during which the proceedings and two DVDs of the second conference, celebrated in 2007 and dedicated to the theme “Son and Salsa in Caribbean Identity,” were also presented.
Purposes of MIC Conference
The international conference Music, Identity, and Culture in the Caribbean (MIC) is intended to gather together scholars, protagonists, and others interested in regional culture every two years, to exchange knowledge related to these pillars of regional culture, and to bring about policies for strengthening cultural identity in national and regional contexts with a comprehensive focus. The event is conceived as a critical and multidisciplinary space of reflection, through which research, experience, and findings related to music, identities, and cultures in the Caribbean will be socialized. The execution of the conference is inscribed within a pedagogical dimension, so educators are expected to participate significantly as a way of involving the educational system and improving artistic education in the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean.
Papers
In the conference, only fifty (50) papers approved by the Reading Committee will be presented. However, the Organizing Committee may invite musicians and other persons considered pertinent in order to offer testimonies within the framework of the event.
Reading Committee
The Organizing Committee will designate an international Reading Committee, made up of recognized researchers in the region, which, after the deadline for receipt of papers, will approve those that can finally be presented during the conference.
Participants
The MIC-III conference is directed towards a wide national and international audience. Bolero performers, researchers, communicators, musical producers and musical businesspersons, cultural workers in both private and state institutions, and those involved with the design, execution, and management of cultural policies and activities are called upon to participate.
Program
Through talks, paper sessions and discussions, publications, concerts, exhibits and a program of preparatory activities (including research; sociocultural activities; meetings with musicians, academics, educators and music lovers; and a film and documentary series), an atmosphere that supports the development of new forms of thinking and acting with respect to music and Caribbean cultural identity, both within and outside of the region, will be produced.
Activities
The MIC-III conference is conceived as a process, and thus a program of preparatory activities will be developed to turn the conference theme into a topic of wide discussion, with national and international impact.
The conference itself will include the following activities:
1. Keynote addresses
2. Paper and discussion sessions. The deadline to submit paper proposals is December 5, 2008, and the deadline for receipt of the texts is March 5, 2009.
3. A meeting of Caribbean music collectors
4. Presentation of new publications: bibliographic (books, journals, etc.), discographic and audiovisual. These must be proposed to the Organizing Committee ahead of time.
5. Concerts: The richness the bolero and its transformations throughout its history will be demonstrated.
6. A cultural tour of the host city for interested parties
7. Book of proceedings: A book of the papers, records and reports of the conference will be published
8. Web site and internet discussion forum: With the aim of bringing about up-to-date interchanges and allowing for the continuation of the dialogue, a web page and a virtual forum will be enabled, and informational bulletins will be sent periodically by e-mail.
Honorary Committee
For MIC-III, the Organizing Committee will designate an Honorary Committee composed of bolero composers and performers from different countries of the Caribbean and Latin America, each of unquestionable merit and national and international renown; well-known researchers; and relevant persons in national and regional culture; as well as representatives of the principal sponsors.
General rules for the presentation of papers
1. Originality. Only original, unpublished work not presented in any other event will be accepted. When sending a proposal, authors should indicate that it complies with the Rule of Originality.
2. Presence. In the conference, the papers must be read by their authors, except in the case of death after approval. Only the names of the presenters who confirm their attendance at the established timeslot will be included in the program.
Paper Proposals
Format. The paper proposals should consist of a maximum of 200 words, which must indicate: the topic to be discussed, summary of its content or focus, and the hypothesis to be sustained. Its heading should indicate: the title of the paper, name and surname of the author, his or her email and physical addresses and his or her phone numbers. Finally, a bio of a maximum of 100 words should be included ready for publication, indicating: country of origin, title and profession or occupation, university where degree was obtained, institution of employment or to which the author belongs, titles of principal publications, and other relevant data. A photograph suitable in size and quality for publication should also be attached. Proposals by several authors or by institutions will be considered.
Delivery. The proposals should be sent to the Executive Secretary of the conference by e-mail to:
inec97@yahoo.es, or by standard mail to: Instituto de Estudios Caribeños (INEC), C/ Cayetano Rodríguez No. 254, Gazcue, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana. Receipt will be acknowledged.
Deadline. The final date for receipt of proposals is December 5, 2008. Proposals received after this date will not be accepted.
Approval. The proposals will be evaluated by a Reading Committee that will decide if they will or will not be accepted, and the committee will present its report to the Organizing Committee, which will communicate its decision to the proponents via the Executive Secretary; afterwards, when the conference program is prepared, the Organizing Committee will assign the panel, session, date and time at which the paper will be presented.
Registration. The approval of a proposal automatically implies the registration of the author as a participant in the conference, with all attendant benefits, during the three days of the event. Thus, the registration form must be filled out and sent to the Executive Secretary for official purposes.
Contact information
Executive Secretary of the Conference
Instituto de Estudios Caribeños (INEC)
Cayetano Rodríguez No. 254, Gazcue
Santo Domingo, República Dominicana
TEL. and FAX 809 685 1355
inec97@yahoo.es
Further information about the city and the conference host at:
http://www.centroleon.org.do/