SEM 51st Annual Conference -- Call for Papers

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Call for Papers

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2006 Call for Papers

“Decolonizing Ethnomusicology”

The Society for Ethnomusicology will hold its 51st annual meeting, November 16-19, 2006, in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Marriott Waikiki Hotel. There will be a pre-conference symposium on Wednesday, November 15, 2006, on the theme "'Whose Asia-Pacific?': Representation and Presentation in Ethnomusicology.”

Just as there was much anticipation for the 2005 meeting in Atlanta, we believe that SEM members are also excited about visiting Hawaii after a quarter of a century. The last SEM meeting in Honolulu took place in 1981. The Hawaii meeting will allow the Society to focus on issues of relevance to Hawaii and the Pacific region. We are also planning events and presentations that members normally expect at an annual meeting.

To ensure that the Honolulu meeting is fully integrated into the discourse of the Pacific, the SEM Board has invited the members of several societies based in the western Pacific—e.g., the New Zealand Musicological Society and the Musicological Society of Australia—who may have found it difficult to attend meetings on the U.S. mainland. Therefore, we look forward to an exchange of ideas between scholars from the western Pacific and other parts of the world.

The annual Charles Seeger lecture will be delivered by Adrienne Kaeppler (Smithsonian Institution).

The conference themes for the 2006 meeting include the following:

Music, sexuality and the body
Migration and movement, with special reference to Asia and the Pacific
Diaspora studies
Confluences of music and dance
Asian and Pacific music masters: An ethnomusicology of the individual
Music and Islam
Music and indigenous politics

Proposals on any other topics relevant to the field of ethnomusicology are also welcome. The online and postmark deadline for submission of SEM proposals is Wednesday, March 15, 2006.

The SEM 2006 Program Committee consists of Susan Asai (Northeastern University), Gregory Booth (University of Auckland), Margaret Kartomi (Monash University), Zoe Sherinian (University of Oklahoma), and Amy Stillman (University of Michigan), with Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje (University of California, Los Angeles) as chair.

For further questions about the program for SEM 2006, please contact:

Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje
UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology
Box 951657
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1657
(Tel) 310-206-3033
(Fax) 310-206-4738

Do not send proposals or abstracts to this address; please see the Call for Papers forms for the proper address.

Proposals are invited in nine categories. Please see below for details. All proposals must include two components—the proposal form and an abstract. When submitting your proposal, first select the appropriate form. Note that two types of forms are used for submitting proposals:

1. “Individual Presenters Form” for single papers, performances or lecture-demonstrations, film/video programs, and poster session proposals.

2. “Organized Sessions Form” for organized panels, forums/roundtables, workshops (participatory), films/videos (the film or video itself is the presentation), and poster session proposals.

PROPOSALS TO BE SUBMITTED ON THE “INDIVIDUAL PRESENTERS FORM”:

Single Papers: Individual paper presentations are 20 minutes long and will be followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Individual paper proposals must include:
1. The Individual Presenters Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Performances or Lecture-Demonstrations: Up to one hour long. Proposals must include:
1. The Individual Presenters Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Film/Video Programs: Recently completed or in-progress films or video programs up to two hours long. Sessions may include an introduction and discussion time. Submit titles, subjects, and formats, and indicate the exact duration of the proposed films/videos and introduction/discussion. Proposals must include:
1. The Individual Presenters Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Poster Sessions: Display stations will be set up where presenters can exhibit a variety of work and remain on hand for scheduled two-hour periods for discussion. Displays might include audio-visual presentations of ethnographic work or new analytical or transcription techniques, performances, instrument building, as well as written work made available at the station. Special display requirements (e.g., computer equipment) will be the responsibility of the presenter. Displays should be designed with the other presenters in the room in mind. Proposals must include:
1. The Individual Presenters Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract describing the subject, purpose, and physical/audible characteristics of the display as well as the audio/visual equipment, wall, or table space required. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.

PROPOSALS TO BE SUBMITTED ON THE “ORGANIZED SESSIONS FORM”:

Organized Panels: Organized panel sessions are 90 minutes or two hours long. A 90-minute panel consists of three papers. A two-hour panel consists of either four papers or three papers plus a discussant. Each presentation (a paper or a discussant’s formal response) will be 20 minutes long followed by 10 minutes of questions and general discussion. Panel abstracts will be evaluated individually as well as collectively. The program committee reserves the right to suggest the addition of a panelist where an independently submitted abstract appears to fit a panel. (Those interested in a more flexible format with more participants may want to consider proposing a forum/roundtable.) Proposals for organized panels should be submitted by the panel organizer and must include:
1. The Organized Sessions Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract describing the rationale for the panel as a whole. While the individual abstracts are necessary, the overall panel abstract is the linchpin of the panel.
3. A 250-word maximum abstract for each presenter. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Forums/Roundtables: Forum/Roundtable sessions provide opportunities for participants to discuss a subject with each other and with members of the audience. Sessions of up to two hours long should include at least four but no more than five participants. We encourage formats that stimulate discussion and audience participation. The organizer will solicit position papers of up to 15 minutes from each participant and will facilitate questions and discussion for the remaining time. Proposals for forums/roundtables should be submitted by the session organizer and must include:
1. The Organized Sessions Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract outlining the purpose/agenda and organization of the session, as well as the anticipated contributions of its members. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Workshops (participatory): Informal, interactive roundtable (maximum six participants) on one topic. The organizer must submit:
1. The Organized Sessions Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract describing the subject and a list of participants. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Films/Videos: Recently completed or in-progress films or video programs up to two hours long. Sessions may include an introduction and discussion time. Submit titles, subjects, and formats, and indicate the exact duration of the proposed films/videos and introduction/discussion. The organizer must submit:
1. The Organized Sessions Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract describing the subject and a list of participants. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Poster Sessions: Display stations will be set up where presenters can exhibit a variety of work and remain on hand for scheduled two-hour periods for discussion. Displays might include audio/visual presentations of ethnographic work or new analytical or transcription techniques, performances, instrument building, as well as written work made available at the station. Special display requirements (e.g., computer equipment) will be the responsibility of the presenter. Displays should be designed with the other presenters in the room in mind. Proposals must include:
1. The Organized Sessions Form
2. A 250-word maximum abstract describing the subject, purpose, and physical/audible characteristics of the display as well as the audio/visual equipment, wall, or table space required. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ABSTRACTS:

Abstracts should demonstrate a clear focus or statement of the problem, a coherent argument, knowledge of previous research, and a statement of the implications for ethnomusicology. To permit blind evaluation, please type your name and institutional affiliation (for session abstracts, the session organizer’s name) in the top left-hand corner of the abstract. Then triple space and type the title of your paper (for session abstracts, the name of the session). Then double space before beginning the body of the abstract. Do not include the names of any participants in the body of the abstract. Abstracts should be typed, single spaced, as shown below:

Eise, Harmon (Musica Ficta University)

“Phenomenology and Musical Transcription”

The skill of real-time transcription by ear has long been considered a relic of the ethnomusicological past. Recording technologies long ago made the practice a quaint and forgotten part of the ethnomusicological toolbox. However, I will argue that recording technologies of all kinds and the repeated listenings used when transcribing music in this fashion introduce perceptual artifacts that distort musical realities in ways that significantly alter subsequent analysis. Then, using phenomenological perspectives, I will explore the heightened consciousness that occurs under the conditions of real-time manual transcription and the inevitable experience of full participation that occurs in these endeavors. The results are transcriptions that capture the texture of the “lived-in musical moment” which cannot be created in any other way. Rejecting the practice of converting temporal forms into spatial ones where technological “improvements” attempt to objectify what is ultimately a set of personal experiences, I argue that it is only through manual transcription during the moment of live performance that a researcher can capture the reality of a given musical experience. Repeated and altered listenings start with a consciousness of an artifact that differs significantly from the moment of musical performance and realization, and thus are flawed from the outset. Finally, I not only show how the skill of real-time transcription exposes qualities of the lived musical experience that are otherwise lost, but I also demonstrate methods by which this forgotten craft of early ethnomusicology may be acquired.

Guidelines:

Abstracts must not exceed 250 words. Abstracts over 250 words will not be accepted.
Abstracts must appear as a single paragraph.
Because abstract review is anonymous, do not include your name, the names of other panelists, or the names of fellow researchers in the body of the abstract. Abstracts identifying presenters or other participants will not be accepted.

SUBMISSIONS, REQUIREMENTS, AND DEADLINES:

Proposal submissions: We strongly encourage you to submit your abstract using the online form at www.ethnomusicology.org (follow the links to the abstract submission site), available after January 15, 2006. The deadline for on-line submissions is March 15, 2006.

If you do not have access to the Internet, mail your form and abstract to the address listed below, postmarked by March 15, 2006.

Address for submissions:

*Online: http://www.conferences.indiana.edu/sem2006/AbstractSubmission.htm

*Postal mail:

Indiana University Conferences
Attn.: SEM 2006 ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
801 N. Jordan
Bloomington, IN 47405 USA

Deadline for submissions: All submissions must be postmarked or submitted online by the published deadline—Wednesday, March 15, 2006—or the abstract will not be reviewed.

Charles Seeger Prize: Students interested in having a paper considered for the Charles Seeger Prize should consult the guidelines in the January 2006 issue of the SEM Newsletter or on the SEM website (www.ethnomusicology.org).

Pre-registration fees: Following SEM policy, all participants whose proposals have been accepted for the program must be SEM members and must pre-register for the meeting by August 2, with the exception of scholars residing outside the United States and Canada, who may elect to pay their fees at the meeting itself. This requirement applies also to those who have agreed to be waitlisted. SEM members whose proposals have been accepted will be sent pre-registration materials around May 15, at the time of notification of their acceptance to the program. If by June 15 you have not received a letter from the program committee indicating whether or not your abstract was accepted, please contact Jennifer Gentry, Conference Coordinator, at Indiana University Conferences, semconf@indiana.edu.

Limit on the number of presentations: SEM policy specifies that each presenter may give one paper (individually or as part of an organized panel) OR act as discussant for a panel OR participate in one forum/roundtable, workshop, performance, lecture-demonstration, or poster session OR present one film/video program during the regular sessions. Presenters may, however, also serve as chair of one panel, forum/roundtable, or workshop.

Cancellations and no-shows: No-shows inconvenience the chair, discussant, fellow panelists, and audience members attending the session. Participants who discover they are unable to attend the meeting should notify the program chair and semconf@indiana.edu immediately. As a general rule, SEM does not allow someone else to read your paper in your absence. Pre-registration cancellations made after October 1 will not qualify for a refund.

Special requests: Please indicate potential scheduling conflicts. If notified in advance, the program committee will attempt to accommodate requests but cannot guarantee a particular time slot.

Timetable:

March 15	Postmark and online-submission deadline for all SEM proposals
May 29	Notifications of acceptances mailed (including preliminary sessions and times) with pre-registration materials
August 2	Deadline for receipt of pre-registration fees from SEM members whose proposals were accepted
October 1	Deadline for presenter cancellation and refund of pre-registration fees from SEM members whose proposals were accepted (minus a $35 handling fee)
October 15	Registration cancellation refund deadline for nonpresenters (minus a $35 handling fee)

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