CALL FOR PAPERS
WOMEN IN MUSIC
International Conference
23-25 September 2026
Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
In collaboration with the Royal Musical Association
'Music of Eastern Europe and Eurasia' Study Group
Venue: Ioannis Drakopoulos Amphitheatre
The Department of Music Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in collaboration with the Royal Musical Association 'Music of Eastern Europe and Eurasia' Study Group are organising a conference on the theme of 'Women in Music.
The role played by women in various aspects of musical life has gained increasing attention since the emergence of feminist approaches to musicology in the 1980s, thanks to the application of feminist theories in various humanistic disciplines slightly earlier, as well a broader revisionist turn in Music Studies at the time, usually referred to as New Musicology. In the course of the past four decades significant efforts have been made to bring to the fore and explore, on the one hand significant aspects of the hitherto undervalued presence and contribution of women in (among others) musical creation, performance, music consumption, music scholarship, music education, and, on the other hand, to address the necessity for revisionist approaches to musicological scholarship. Nevertheless, the field of musicology is still a long way from achieving balanced accounts of gender participation in music making. At the same time, recent scholarship has increasingly foregrounded gender as a relational, historically contingent, and culturally situated category, inviting critical reflection on the very terms through which 'women in music' have been conceptualised and studied.
The conference 'Women in Music' aims to help remedy this gender imbalance in Music Studies by shedding additional light on women's involvement in various aspects of musical life since the early 20th century. Specifically, it aims to focus on a wide variety of historical and cultural contexts, with an emphasis on the geographical areas of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, while at the same time covering a wide spectrum of sub-disciplinary areas in the field of Music Studies.
Papers could address, but do not need to be limited to, some of the following aspects:
*
women as performers
*
the role of women in musical creation both in and beyond art musical traditions (i.e. in various cultural contexts)
*
the role of women in music education
*
women as cultural consumers/listeners
*
women as scholars, researchers and music critics
*
the role of women in leadership positions, promoting music making either as agents in cultural institutions or on account of their particular position in various cultural contexts
The conference encourages the representation of as many areas of music making and musical cultures as possible, aiming at a comparative perspective that will make a new contribution to the state of the art. Consequently, we encourage submissions associated with (among others) the sub-disciplines of Historical Musicology, Aesthetics, Music Analysis, Ethnomusicology, Popular Music Studies, Music Pedagogy.
The conference places particular emphasis on women's musical activities in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, with a primary focus on the period from 1900 onwards. Submissions engaging with these geographical and temporal frameworks will be prioritised.
The conference official language is English.
Paper proposals of no more than 250 words and short biographical notes of approximately 100 words should be submitted by 20 April 2026 to the following email address: womeninmusicconference@gmail.com.
Organising Committee
Eleni Kallimopoulou, Magdalini Kalopana, Katerina Levidou, Nick Poulakis, Angeliki Triantafyllaki, Markos Tsetsos
Scientific Committee
Pauline Fairclough, Eleni Kallimopoulou, Magdalini Kalopana, Elaine Kelly, Katerina Levidou, Ivana Medić, Nick Poulakis, Angeliki Triantafyllaki, Markos Tsetsos
https://www.music.uoa.gr/anthropino_dynamiko/meli_dep/aikaterini_lebidoy/
https://uoa.academia.edu/KaterinaLevidou
WOMEN IN MUSIC
International Conference
23-25 September 2026
Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
In collaboration with the Royal Musical Association
'Music of Eastern Europe and Eurasia' Study Group
Venue: Ioannis Drakopoulos Amphitheatre
The Department of Music Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in collaboration with the Royal Musical Association 'Music of Eastern Europe and Eurasia' Study Group are organising a conference on the theme of 'Women in Music.
The role played by women in various aspects of musical life has gained increasing attention since the emergence of feminist approaches to musicology in the 1980s, thanks to the application of feminist theories in various humanistic disciplines slightly earlier, as well a broader revisionist turn in Music Studies at the time, usually referred to as New Musicology. In the course of the past four decades significant efforts have been made to bring to the fore and explore, on the one hand significant aspects of the hitherto undervalued presence and contribution of women in (among others) musical creation, performance, music consumption, music scholarship, music education, and, on the other hand, to address the necessity for revisionist approaches to musicological scholarship. Nevertheless, the field of musicology is still a long way from achieving balanced accounts of gender participation in music making. At the same time, recent scholarship has increasingly foregrounded gender as a relational, historically contingent, and culturally situated category, inviting critical reflection on the very terms through which 'women in music' have been conceptualised and studied.
The conference 'Women in Music' aims to help remedy this gender imbalance in Music Studies by shedding additional light on women's involvement in various aspects of musical life since the early 20th century. Specifically, it aims to focus on a wide variety of historical and cultural contexts, with an emphasis on the geographical areas of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, while at the same time covering a wide spectrum of sub-disciplinary areas in the field of Music Studies.
Papers could address, but do not need to be limited to, some of the following aspects:
*
women as performers
*
the role of women in musical creation both in and beyond art musical traditions (i.e. in various cultural contexts)
*
the role of women in music education
*
women as cultural consumers/listeners
*
women as scholars, researchers and music critics
*
the role of women in leadership positions, promoting music making either as agents in cultural institutions or on account of their particular position in various cultural contexts
The conference encourages the representation of as many areas of music making and musical cultures as possible, aiming at a comparative perspective that will make a new contribution to the state of the art. Consequently, we encourage submissions associated with (among others) the sub-disciplines of Historical Musicology, Aesthetics, Music Analysis, Ethnomusicology, Popular Music Studies, Music Pedagogy.
The conference places particular emphasis on women's musical activities in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, with a primary focus on the period from 1900 onwards. Submissions engaging with these geographical and temporal frameworks will be prioritised.
The conference official language is English.
Paper proposals of no more than 250 words and short biographical notes of approximately 100 words should be submitted by 20 April 2026 to the following email address: womeninmusicconference@gmail.com.
Organising Committee
Eleni Kallimopoulou, Magdalini Kalopana, Katerina Levidou, Nick Poulakis, Angeliki Triantafyllaki, Markos Tsetsos
Scientific Committee
Pauline Fairclough, Eleni Kallimopoulou, Magdalini Kalopana, Elaine Kelly, Katerina Levidou, Ivana Medić, Nick Poulakis, Angeliki Triantafyllaki, Markos Tsetsos
https://www.music.uoa.gr/anthropino_dynamiko/meli_dep/aikaterini_lebidoy/
https://uoa.academia.edu/KaterinaLevidou
