Music, Nation and Region in the Iberian Peninsula: (Re)Sounding History, Identity and Heritage

22-23 juin 2017, University of Cambridge

In the twenty-first century, scholarly debate regarding national vis-à-vis regional identities in the Iberian Peninsula has returned centre stage. Despite the pressures of globalisation that many believed would phase out the importance of the nation state and national belonging, the display of territorial identities has become more prominent across Europe. Music plays a powerful role in nationalism, functioning as a tool for state-level cultural policy and displays of national patrimony, as well as a political vehicle for the negotiation of national narratives. The historical legacy and contemporary resurgence of nationalisms and regionalisms in the Iberian Peninsula has influenced the ways in which music is politicised and harnessed as a symbol of identity, collective memory and nostalgia. Moreover, the recent impact of international heritage policy, particularly through UNESCO's Convention for Intangible Cultural Heritage, has strengthened the cultural and political significance of music especially at an institutional level bringing into question the ways in which musical ownership and value are negotiated. Finally, increased immigration in the Iberian Peninsula has diversified musical practice complicating the relationship between music and nation in increasingly multicultural societies.

Papers are invited that address the following areas from an historical or an ethnographic perspective:

Rethinking music and nationalism in the Iberian Peninsula both past and present

Music and state-level cultural policy

Music and regionalism

Contesting the state: music as a political weapon

Music and UNESCO's Convention for Intangible Cultural Heritage

Collective memory and nostalgia in musical practice and discourse

Music on and across border regions

Music, diaspora and immigration in national/regional contexts

Authors should send a 300-word abstract plus biography to iberianmusic2017 -at- gmail.com. DEADLINE: 12th JANUARY 2017.

For more information, please see the symposium website: https://iberianmusic2017blog.wordpress.com