November 6th-8th 2024, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.  

Music4Change aims to make sustainability a core element in music research and education. The second of three annual International Research Schools will explore how to support sustainable cities and cultures of music.

Music4Change invites papers, panels and workshops for the 2024 International Research School on the theme of Sustainable Cities and Cultures of Music to be held on November 6-8 at the University of Groningen. During these three days we will explore new ways of researching cities in relation to sustainability within the realm of music in a variety of formats, including through workshops, sound walks, interactive performances, and papers. While cities prove essential entities for the development, cultivation, and transformation of musical cultures, institutions and practices, urban music-making also involves unprecedented challenges in the face of multiple global economic, environmental, and political crises. This research school seeks to explore the changing organization of musical values, activities, and preferences taking place within them. Further we seek to expand upon new and (re-)emergent musical practices to investigate more sustainable alternatives for live music performance spaces, and for media and preservation strategies, educational models, and health systems that encourage the proliferation of musical communities within and across livable, inclusive, and sustainable cities. During this international research school, we come together to explore research and innovations in the formation of sustainable musical cultures and communities, and to critically explore musical and sonic pathways towards more sustainable cities.

Themes relevant for this school may include:

  • Music and (post-)urban ecologies
  • Music media and sustainable production and reception platform
  • Music festivals and sustainable practices
  • Sustainable creativity, sonic fictions and the urban imaginary
  • Urban displacement, gentrification and responses to cultural / musical extractivism
  • Living archives and other forms of preserving critical musical practices of threatened musical communities and genres
  • Educational models which encourage environmentally, economically and/or socially sustainable music-making
  • Sustainable research methods & infrastructures for music & sound-based disciplines
  • Sustainable industrial and economic models for musicians and musical institutions
  • Sustainable music practices for health and care
  • Forms of urban engagement which draw attention to sustainability goals and issues
  • Acoustic sustainability, citizenship and DIY approaches to sustainability
  • Inclusive listening practices in urban settings
  • Sound mapping of cities in relation to ecology and biodiversity
  • Re-thinking music cities and communities in relation to mobility, nomadism and de-urbanization

The format for presentations at the course is open.  In addition to the oral/powerpoint presentations we welcome performances, multimedia presentations, panel discussions, and workshops. If you have any questions please contact Morten Norheim.

Oral Presentations:

Oral presentations will be 20 mins talk plus 20 mins for questions.

Performance:

Performance presentations can be in the form of a lecture recital or performance with reflection, and should be a maximum 25 mins plus 20 mins for questions.

Prerecorded Presentations:

Oral or performance presentations can be pre recorded and submitted as a video.  These should be a maximum of 25 mins. Prerecorded  presentations will be available to  view before the event and the full 40 mins of the session will be used for feedback and questions.

Ph.D. candidates can gain 3 ECTS credit points for participation in this course and have the option of presenting on the main theme of the course OR on their own research project and should participate in the Peer Mentorship Hub. Candidate presentations will receive feedback from senior researchers and peers.

If you wish to apply for ECTS credit you must register to do this before the course. Please contact our administrator for further details.

Ways to Participate

There are two ways to participate in the course.

Presentations on the Course Theme “Sustainable Cities and Cultures”: We welcome abstracts on the course theme from researchers from any field, and also those outside of the academy such as musicians and activists.

Spotlight Sessions: Ph.D. candidates, at any stage of their doctoral work, and early career researchers can present their own project (regardless of theme) and receive feedback from peers and senior researchers.

Deadline for Abstracts:
1st June 2024

Registration:
Opens: Mid-August 2024
Closes 1st October 2024