The Ethics and Aesthetics of Studying Music in Situations of Conflict and Violence: A Participatory Workshop



Tuesday 20th February 2018, 9.30am to 5.30pm



The Institute of Musical Research, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 2HU



In recent years, music scholars working in diverse situations of conflict and violence have grappled with increasingly complex questions about the ethical dimensions of their work and with the interplay of the personal, professional and political. This workshop explores some of the issues arising from research in such contexts: How do we convey the intensity of embodied experience in violent conflict without resorting to voyeuristic exoticism or minimizing the asymmetry of modern warfare? Is it possible to apply the same ethical principles and analytical paradigms to both victims and perpetrators? What methodological issues arise when we seek to collect ethnographic or archival material or collaborate with non-academics in conflict situations? What ethical issues arise when our research (and careers) are based on the suffering of others? What forms of writing or other media are best suited to representing what we have witnessed or translating our 'findings' for different audiences? Should our disciplinary ethical statements be extended to situations of violent conflict and human rights violations? What kind of support might we ourselves need after exposure to extreme violence or trauma, and where might we find it?



The day will include roundtable sessions, breakout discussion groups and plenary sessions. A detailed schedule will be published in December 2017.



This participatory workshop emerges from a successful panel held at the 2017 British Forum for Ethnomusicology conference, at which it became evident that there is an urgent need for in-depth discussion and for the development of practical strategies for dealing with such issues.



The workshop may be particularly relevant to doctoral students and early career researchers but we welcome scholars from all career stages. Whilst the idea for the workshop arose from discussions among ethnomusicologists, these issues clearly affect a broad range of music scholars and practitioner researchers and we welcome a wide range of participants from across music studies.



Attendance is free but advance registration is requested:

https://www.city.ac.uk/events/2018/february/the-ethics-and-aesthetics-of-studying-music-in-situations-of-conflict-and-violence-a-participatory-workshop



All enquiries about the workshop should be addressed to Gabrielle Messeder: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>



We have limited funding a small number of bursaries to assist PhD students and Early Career Researchers with travel. If you would like to apply for a bursary, please send your name, institutional affiliation (where appropriate) and the amount requested (maximum £50), plus a 100 word rationale for the support requested (for example, self-funded student, ECR with no institutional support, etc) to Gabrielle Messeder by 1st December 2017.





Workshop Convenors:

Caroline Bithell, University of Manchester

Hettie Malcomson, University of Southampton

Laudan Nooshin, City, University of London

Abigail Wood, University of Haifa





Conference Supporters:

Institute of Musical Research, in association with the School of Advanced Study, University of London (funding supplied by Nick Baker)

Additional funding from the Royal Musical Association