Rhythm Changes: Jazz and National Identities
2-4 September 2011, Amsterdam
The first Rhythm Changes conference will take place in September 2011
and will be hosted in partnership with the Conservatory of Amsterdam.
The three-day conference will explore the theme of 'Jazz and National
Identities' and will include presentations from an international line up
of jazz researchers.
Conference outline
Throughout its history, jazz has played an important part in discourses
about national identity, politics and cultural value; indeed, the music
continues to play a complex role in the cultural life of nations
worldwide. Within this context, jazz is an ideal cultural form from
which to explore a number of critical questions bound up with national
identity, from the development of national sounds and
ensembles to the politics of migration and race, from the impact of
globalisation and the hybridisation of musical styles to the creation of
social institutions and distinct communities, from jazz's shifting
aesthetic status from popular to canonical 'art' music. Jazz has
developed in a range of national settings through different influences
and interactions, so is ideally placed to explore wider issues
surrounding identity and inheritance, enabling unique perspectives on
how culture is exchanged, adopted and transformed.
Call for papers
Rhythm Changes is a three day multi-disciplinary conference that brings
together leading researchers in the fields of jazz studies, media and
cultural studies. The Conference committee invites papers and panel
proposals that feed into the Conference theme and is interested in
featuring perspectives from a range of international contexts. Although
not restricted to specific themes, possible topics could include:
* National identity and jazz
* Trans-national or post-national jazz sounds
* Jazz nationalism and nationalistic movements
* The musical McDonalds? Jazz and the politics of globalisation
* Migration and trans-cultural exchange
* Jazz as quintessentially American music
* Media dissemination and the spread of jazz culture
* Jazz as classical, folk or popular music
* Venues, festivals and the dynamics of culture
* Jazz and the cold war
* Exploring sonic identities (African American, the Nordic Tone,
South African jazz)
* Jazz and 'frontier' myths
* National jazz criticism
* Jazz in urban and rural spaces
* Interrogating the 'Afrological' and 'Eurological'
* Jazz racisms, censorship and propaganda
* Cultural memory and jazz
* National ensembles and/or trans-national collectives
* Postcolonial settings for jazz
* Origins, mythology and the construction of jazz history
* Modernism, postmodernism and jazz
The Conference committee welcomes individual papers and proposals for
panels and round table discussions. For individual papers, abstracts of
no more than 300 words should be submitted. Panels and round table
proposals should include a session overview, participant biographies and
description of individual contributions. Abstracts and proposals (as
well as event queries) should be sent to Professor Walter van de Leur (
W.vandeLeur@uva.nl <mailto:W.vandeLeur@uva.nl> ) by 25 February 2011.
Keynote Speakers
Professor Bruce Johnson (Universities of Macquarie, Turku and Glasgow)
Professor Ronald Radano (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Conference Committee
Nicholas Gebhardt (University of Lancaster), George McKay (University of
Salford), Walter van de Leur (Conservatory of Amsterdam and University
of Amsterdam), and Tony Whyton (University of Salford).
Rhythm Changes is a HERA EUFP7 project:
http://www.rhythmchanges.net <http://www.rhythmchanges.net/>
http://www.heranet.info/
2-4 September 2011, Amsterdam
The first Rhythm Changes conference will take place in September 2011
and will be hosted in partnership with the Conservatory of Amsterdam.
The three-day conference will explore the theme of 'Jazz and National
Identities' and will include presentations from an international line up
of jazz researchers.
Conference outline
Throughout its history, jazz has played an important part in discourses
about national identity, politics and cultural value; indeed, the music
continues to play a complex role in the cultural life of nations
worldwide. Within this context, jazz is an ideal cultural form from
which to explore a number of critical questions bound up with national
identity, from the development of national sounds and
ensembles to the politics of migration and race, from the impact of
globalisation and the hybridisation of musical styles to the creation of
social institutions and distinct communities, from jazz's shifting
aesthetic status from popular to canonical 'art' music. Jazz has
developed in a range of national settings through different influences
and interactions, so is ideally placed to explore wider issues
surrounding identity and inheritance, enabling unique perspectives on
how culture is exchanged, adopted and transformed.
Call for papers
Rhythm Changes is a three day multi-disciplinary conference that brings
together leading researchers in the fields of jazz studies, media and
cultural studies. The Conference committee invites papers and panel
proposals that feed into the Conference theme and is interested in
featuring perspectives from a range of international contexts. Although
not restricted to specific themes, possible topics could include:
* National identity and jazz
* Trans-national or post-national jazz sounds
* Jazz nationalism and nationalistic movements
* The musical McDonalds? Jazz and the politics of globalisation
* Migration and trans-cultural exchange
* Jazz as quintessentially American music
* Media dissemination and the spread of jazz culture
* Jazz as classical, folk or popular music
* Venues, festivals and the dynamics of culture
* Jazz and the cold war
* Exploring sonic identities (African American, the Nordic Tone,
South African jazz)
* Jazz and 'frontier' myths
* National jazz criticism
* Jazz in urban and rural spaces
* Interrogating the 'Afrological' and 'Eurological'
* Jazz racisms, censorship and propaganda
* Cultural memory and jazz
* National ensembles and/or trans-national collectives
* Postcolonial settings for jazz
* Origins, mythology and the construction of jazz history
* Modernism, postmodernism and jazz
The Conference committee welcomes individual papers and proposals for
panels and round table discussions. For individual papers, abstracts of
no more than 300 words should be submitted. Panels and round table
proposals should include a session overview, participant biographies and
description of individual contributions. Abstracts and proposals (as
well as event queries) should be sent to Professor Walter van de Leur (
W.vandeLeur@uva.nl <mailto:W.vandeLeur@uva.nl> ) by 25 February 2011.
Keynote Speakers
Professor Bruce Johnson (Universities of Macquarie, Turku and Glasgow)
Professor Ronald Radano (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Conference Committee
Nicholas Gebhardt (University of Lancaster), George McKay (University of
Salford), Walter van de Leur (Conservatory of Amsterdam and University
of Amsterdam), and Tony Whyton (University of Salford).
Rhythm Changes is a HERA EUFP7 project:
http://www.rhythmchanges.net <http://www.rhythmchanges.net/>
http://www.heranet.info/
