Cultures of Struggle: Song, Art and Performance in Popular Movements (29-31 May 2015)
Song and artistic performance have long been dominant discourses in
liberation struggles across the globe. Southern Africa, the United States of
America, Ireland, and Latin America are just a few examples of where lyrics of
freedom, used as a means of unification and resistance, have entered popular
culture and the political imaginary during times of struggle. And, though many
of these liberation battles have now been won, the influence of these
performances has not declined. The
conference will explore questions including, but not limited to:
• What is the relationship between aesthetics and popular movements?
• Can song be considered as an official/serious political form?
• How did song and performance constitute a space of
subversion/assertion?
• How have performances of liberation been translated into an
expressive tool of those now in power?
• What are the transnational connections between these discourses?
• How has song/performance adjusted to the opening and/or closing of
space (temporal, geographical, psychological, symbolic)? What is their
relationship?
• How has song/performance been informed by the movement of
peoples and demographics?
• How have these discourses been adapted and used by other cultural
forums (i.e. sport, media etc.)?
• What is their relationship with nationalism?
Interested researchers should email a 200 word abstract proposal along with
five keywords to Tom Penfold (tpenfold@uj.ac.za<mailto:tpenfold@uj.ac.za>; t.w.penfold@bham.ac.uk<mailto:t.w.penfold@bham.ac.uk>)
by 19 January 2015.