Popular music in the Post-Soviet sphere: Analysing current trends

Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden
3-4 September 2020 (lunch to lunch)

The workshop titled “Popular music in the Post-Soviet sphere: Analysing current trends” aims to carve out the main contributions currently being made by scholars to studies of Post-Soviet popular music in the 21st century. Popular music studies, investigating both the sounds, lyrics, performance and wider practices and cultures of popular music, is a large and vibrant research area. However, popular music produced in the Post-Soviet sphere, by artists associated with the Post-Soviet sphere, consumed by listeners in the Post-Soviet sphere/diaspora, or thematising Post-Soviet topics has not been the focus of much research in comparison to Western European and Anglo-American popular music. This is all the more surprising as Estrada, Russkii Shanson, Pop/Popsa, Rock, EDM and Rap/Hip Hop are major genres in Post-Soviet countries with large quantities of music produced, performed and listened to.

This workshop invites scholars working on the topic Post-Soviet popular music in musicology, ethnomusicology, sociology, music education, media studies, gender studies, cultural studies and other relevant disciplines to submit abstracts relating to the following themes:

• Nationalism and politics in Post-Soviet popular music and popular music culture
• Gender, sexuality and feminism in Post-Soviet popular music and popular music culture
• Ethnicity/race and minorities in Post-Soviet popular music and popular music culture
• Social media and mediatisation in relation to popular music in the Post-Soviet countries and diaspora
• Analysis of artists and genres of current importance in Post-Soviet popular music
• Decolonialisation, (national) independence movements and conflict in Post-Soviet popular music
• Youth, social protest movements and popular music culture in the Post-Soviet sphere

We welcome your abstract (250 words) and a short biography (100 words) in English before the 31stof March. Send it to [email protected] and indicate the workshop title in the e-mail subject line.

Practical

Scholars conducting popular music studies concerned with the Post-Soviet sphere in any discipline in Europe, Central Asia and other parts of the world are welcome. There will be a limited amount of travel scholarships. Indicate if you are applying for a travel scholarship including travel and one night’s accommodation, stating clearly your reasons for applying for the travel scholarships and listing the approximate costs of travel.

The most relevant abstracts in relation to the themes listed above will be selected for presentation. Scholars with an accepted abstract that are not able to travel can discuss long distance presenting with the organiser. The main language of the workshop will be English. Scholars wanting to present in another language can discuss their options with the organiser.

We also welcome participants not presenting, if you are interested in participating without presenting please contact the organizer.

Organiser: Ann Werner, Södertörn University, Sweden ([email protected])
Organising committee (in alphabetic order):
Maria Brock, Cardiff University, UK
Ekaterina Kalinina, Jönköping University, Sweden
Irina Seits, Södertörn University, Sweden
David-Emil Wickström, Popakademie Baden-Württemberg – University of Popular Music and Music Business, Germany