Events
XXIII ESEM - European Seminar in Ethnomusicology
International Congress
XXIII ESEM - European Seminar in Ethnomusicology
Between October 11th and 13th, 2007 | Universidade Nova de Lisboa's Rectory
The XXIII Conference of the European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM) was organized by INET-MD, from 11th to 13th October, at the Rectory of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Founded in 1981 by John Blacking, ESEM is the most important European association of Ethnomusicology gathering ethnomusicologists from several parts of the globe.
The largest scientific meeting in the domain of Ethnomusicology ever organized in Portugal, it gathered 130 participants and 50 papers around the conferences themes:
The largest scientific meeting in the domain of Ethnomusicology ever organized in Portugal, it gathered 130 participants and 50 papers around the conferences themes:
Music and Dance in Diasporic Communities in Europe
Europe is home to myriad diasporic communities, both historical and recently constituted. Since the second half of the twentieth century, the dissolution of Europe’s imperial hegemony, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the establishment of the European Union have stimulated the transnational movement of capital, labour and culture. From Africa, Asia, and the Americas, or from countries within Europe, migrants have formed diasporic communities that reconfigured urban spaces and sounds. The understanding of this new European reality poses a challenge for ethnomusicological inquiry. How do music, dance and ritual contribute to the formation of diasporic communities, to the interaction between them, to their integration in the host society, and to the maintenance of ties with their communities of origin? How does music and dance performance embody, negotiate or contest identities within this framework? What is the role of global cultural industries in the production and dissemination of music in and of diasporic communities?
Audiovisual Archives in the 21st Century
Sound archives played a central role in the establishment of Ethnomusicology as a scholarly discipline. Since the founding of the first sound archives in Vienna and Berlin over one hundred years ago, archives have been established in many parts of the world. However, much still needs to be done to safeguard the world’s audiovisual heritage and to uncover archives’ contents to the users worldwide. Audiovisual archiving in the 21st century faces a great many challenges. We need to contribute meaningfully to ongoing discussions about potential solutions and strategies in this field. We must consider both the positive and negative impact that new technologies may have on such issues as preservation, dissemination, organizational structure, sustainability, ethics, copyright and networking.
Music and Dance in Post-Colonial Portugal and Spain
Portugal and Spain inaugurated the movement towards globalization in the fifteen and sixteen centuries through sea trade and territorial expansion. The impact of the colonial legacy of the two Iberian countries has been ignored in post-colonial theories that are largely informed by the British model. Using post-colonial theoretical perspectives, ethnomusicological research on post-colonial Portugal and Spain, both as former imperialist nations and as homeland for diasporas, can contribute with new insights on music and dance in these territories, and shed light on central issues and concepts such as identity politics, hybridity and mimesis.
Philip Bohlman, Professor at the University of Chicago, presented the Keynote Speech on Herder’s Cid and the Epic of Modern Europe.
The Program Committee of the Conference consisted of Salwa El- Shawan Castelo-Branco (President), Susana Sardo, Daniel Tércio, António Tilly, Martin Clayton and Franck Kouvenhoven.
Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco, Ana Filipa Carvalho and Gonçalo Antunes de Oliveira formed the Organizing committee.
The conference website was designed and maintained by Pedro Russo Moreira, who was part of the organizing team that included Hugo Silva, Leonor Losa, Susana Moreno Fernández, Pedro Nunes, Carla Minelli, Rosa Clara Neves and Isa Peixinho.
INET-MD researchers presented papers and chaired several sessions: Ana Filipa de Carvalho, Ana Paula Batalha, Bárbara Alge, Daniel Tércio, João Soeiro de Carvalho, Jorge Castro Ribeiro, Luísa Roubaud, Maria de São José Côrte-Real, Margarida Moura, Pedro Félix, Rui Cidra, Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco, Susana Moreno Fernández, Susana Sardo.
The Conference was sponsored by the following institutions: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Museu do Fado, EGEAC, Carris, Cafés Delta, El Corte Inglês, e Frota Azul.
