FINAL REMINDER
Call for Papers
Why Pamper Life's Complexities?
A Symposium on The Smiths
Manchester Institute of Popular Culture
Manchester Metropolitan University
April 8th and 9th 2005
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS:
Professor Sheila Whiteley (author of Women and Popular Music: Sexuality,
Identity and Subjectivity)
John Harris (author of The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of
English Rock)
Simon Goddard (author of The Smiths: The Songs That Saved Your Life)
The Smiths have had a singular impact on popular culture. They looked like
nobody else and sounded like nobody else. The music of The Smiths contained
an emotional depth and a technical virtuosity that moved people in a way
that almost no other band has managed before or since. In spite of their
enormous cultural significance and personal resonance, The Smiths have yet
to receive sustained academic attention. To date, there have been remarkably
few serious examinations of the band. The purpose of this symposium is to
put that right. The event seeks to draw together academics and others who
wish to critically examine what The Smiths meant and continue to mean almost
two decades after their untimely demise. Among the themes that we hope to
address are: gender and sexuality, race and nationality, a sense of place,
the imagination of class, the significance of Manchester in popular music,
the aesthetics of the band, fan cultures and musical innovation.
Abstracts for proposed conference papers should be no longer than 200 words
and should be sent (via email) no later than January 10th 2005 to Dr Fergus
Campbell, School of Historical Studies, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne,
[log in to unmask]; Dr Sean Campbell, Department of
Communication and Media Studies, APU, Cambridge, [log in to unmask], and
Dr Colin Coulter, Department of Sociology, National University of Ireland,
Maynooth, Ireland, [log in to unmask]
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