Music, Research, and Activism

Welcome to the conference Music, Research, and Activism II

How do music scholars engage with activist research? How are Black feminist and Indigenous perspectives applied in music research? How can music and music research advance equality, equity, human rights, or ecological sustainability? How are solidarities being built and reimagined, and how is urgency present in music and among activists and researchers working with music? 

The conference Music, Research, and Activism II: Solidarities and Urgencies seeks to bring together scholars and practitioners engaged in music, research, and activism in different disciplines and scholarly traditions. Activist research may be motivated by social and environmental movements and struggles, as well as by topical crises and conflicts such as climate emergency, ecological catastrophes, wars and conflicts, and the curtailing of human rights (e.g. trans rights). Activist music research calls us to revisit many classic questions of music research (both practical and theoretical), to address music as a social and political force, cultural practice, identity technology, material culture, and economy. The epistemological diversity of the world fuels activist researchers to engage with forms of knowledge production beyond academic conventions.

Please, remember the following important dates (Note: UTC+2 hours):

  • Abstract submission deadline: 18 October 2024
  • Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: 13 December 2024
  • Final programme published: 28 February 2025
  • Registration for all participants by 18 April, 2025
  • Conference Dates: 14–16 May 2025, University of Helsinki, Finland