*Historical Approaches to Music: a One-Day Interdisciplinary Conference**
to be held at Trinity College, Oxford*



*Date of conference: 24th March 2017*

*Deadline for submission of abstracts: 13th January 2017*



Scholars of both music and history have long accepted that each of their
fields of study has much to offer the other. Musicologists regularly
address the historical context of their subject matter, whilst historians
increasingly seek to employ music in understanding cultural and political
developments. The best of these works employ a critical, nuanced approach,
examining a range of musical genres and modes of musical production with
historical rigour. However, methodological interaction between the two
fields is still limited, and often subject to lip service alone. Seen by
many as a specialist topic, demanding a slightly inaccessible
methodological approach, music is too frequently the lesser sibling of
supposedly more accessible forms of culture, notably literature.



In order to discuss these issues, this one-day conference seeks to draw
together historians and music scholars who are engaging in
interdisciplinary research into history and music. In particular, it aims
to encourage those taking a historical approach to the subject of music,
and to test underlying assumptions in the historiographies of musical
cultures. We invite proposals for individual 20 minute papers, lecture
recitals, or longer group presentations (preference will be given to those
with an interdisciplinary makeup). Additionally, we welcome suggestions for
topics suitable for panel discussion.



Proposals may consider any aspect of music history, including but not
limited to the following topics:



*Methods, Sources and Historiography*

   - How might historical methodologies enhance our understanding of
   musical cultures?
   - What can a wider range of primary source material tell us about the
   music history of a particular time and place?
   - How effectively and convincingly has music been employed as a
   historical source?
   - How can musicologists present their work in a way that ensures it will
   be accessible and of interest to the wider historiographical discourse?

*Case Studies*

   - In what ways has music impacted upon historical figures and events?
   - How has historical context affected the nature of particular
   compositions and cultures?
   - What role does music play in the construction of historical
   narratives?
   - How might extramusical lines of inquiry shed new light on widely
   accepted views of events in music history?

Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words to [log in to unmask]
by 13th January 2017.


*Travel Bursaries*

We are hoping to make a limited number of travel bursaries available to
postgraduate students and Early Career Researchers. Priority will be given
to those presenting papers and those without institutional travel support.



If you would like to be considered for financial support, please a
statement of no more than 200 words with your abstract. In your statement,
please explain how the travel bursary would be used, including the
following information:



·  What funding, if any, do you expect to receive from your
university/institution?

·  Estimate the travel costs you expect to incur in attending the
conference.


Kind Regards,


Richard Parfitt

Maura Valenti

Frances K. Watson

(Conveners)