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The studies focused on the intersections between musical practice and political activity have occupied, in recent decades, an increasingly relevant space in the international academic panorama. Research on the role of music as a vehicle of political ideals and as a stimulus for social mobilization, as well as the study of political party activity exercised by musicians and musical communities, have constituted prominent themes in the scientific production of diverse areas, with the relationship between music and politics being analysed through different approaches in diverse scientific domains - history, musicology, ethnomusicology, sociology, anthropology, among others.

In Portugal, throughout the 20th century, music constituted an important tool for political expression. Through different musical genres, currents, styles and practices, the role and impact of music in the social life of the country can be analysed, among other aspects, through its multiple uses and meanings in the context of the various political transformations that occurred during this period, such as the introduction of satirical and socially critical content during the end of the monarchy and the First Republic; its ideological and propagandistic instrumentalization during the rise and consolidation of the Estado Novo; the configuration of forms of resistance and contestation against the dictatorial regime the interventional character and party commitment in defence of revolutionary values during and after the process of transition to constitutional democracy; the development of new musical domains during and after Portugal's accession to the European Economic Community; and, more recently, its use by new movements of social contestation to neoliberal economic models, among other topics.

Recognising the importance of scientific contribution to this debate, this colloquium proposes to address the interaction between music and politics in the Portuguese context, appealing to a multidisciplinary and plural dialogue, aiming to contribute to the mapping of the current state of research that focuses on the different dimensions of the relationship between music and politics in Portugal throughout the 20th century.

The following keynote speakers will be invited:

Robert Adlington: musicologist, he is since 2017 Queen's Anniversary Prize Chair in Contemporary Music at the University of Huddersfield (UK). His research interests and publications have focused on the relations between music and democracy, music and communism, and music and social and political movements.

Anthony Seeger: anthropologist and ethnomusicologist, he is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Los Angeles (USA). He is the author of a vast number of publications on issues related to indigenous human rights, archivistics, traditional music and North American folk music.

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