CALL FOR PAPERS:

“Social Inclusion, Community, and Belonging at International Music Festivals”

The University of Sheffield, 13-14 June 2024 

Festivals play important and diverse roles in communities and societies around the world. International music festivals which bring together performers from different places and cultural backgrounds have emerged in response to processes of mobility, migration, multiculturalism and transnationalism. This symposium explores the impacts of international music festivals and considers their implications for social inclusion, community, and belonging. We hope that participants will gain new perspectives on the issues affecting festivals today and share ideas about their future possibilities.

The symposium will take place at the University of Sheffield, 13-14 JUNE 2024. It is hosted in partnership with Migration Matters Festival, which celebrates the diversity of Sheffield through the performing arts. This festival will provide a vibrant setting for our conversations on the significance of festivals locally and globally.

The symposium welcomes anyone with an interest in festivals, including scholars, performing artists, event organisers, campaigners, etc. We invite proposals for papers, workshops, roundtables, posters, and presentations in any other format. Proposals on any topic related to international music festivals will be considered, but we especially welcome submissions that explore one or more of the following themes:

• Social inclusion, community, belonging.
• Migration, multiculturalism, postcolonialism, diaspora.
• Nationalism, transnationalism, neoliberalism.
• Place making, tourism, heritage.
• Diplomacy, activism.
• Ecology, sustainability, climate justice.
• Practice research, participatory/collaborative methods.
• Online festivals.

Registration for the symposium is FREE, thanks to support from the UKRI Knowledge Exchange Higher Education Innovation Fund. This is primarily an in-person event in Sheffield, but we will support a limited number of participants who are unable to travel to Sheffield due to travel, health or funding restrictions to present online and take part virtually.

The deadline for proposals is 15 DECEMEBER 2023. Please send the following information to j.nissen@sheffield.ac.uk:

• 200–300 words abstract for paper proposals; max 1 page outlining the aims, methods and duration of the session for workshops or other formats. Presentations should be delivered in either English or Spanish.
• 50–100 words personal biography highlighting relevant activities and experience.
• Institutional affiliation (if applicable) and contact information.
• Please state whether you would prefer to attend in person in Sheffield or contribute online. Please note that online presentations will be required to record their presentations in advance of the symposium and be present virtually to take part in the discussion following their presentation. If you have any access needs, please let us know and we will do our best to meet them.

Thank you in advance for your proposals, we look forward to reading them! If you have any questions about the symposium, please contact: j.nissen@sheffield.ac.uk.