5th Symposium of the ICTMD Study Group on Music and Dance of the Slavic World

 

 

 

Call for Proposals

5th Symposium of the ICTMD Study Group on
Music and Dance of the Slavic World

Organised by the Department of Ethnology IMCTCE, Faculty of Arts,
Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (Slovakia) and Tradana (Slovakia)
in cooperation with the Slovak Committee of ICTMD and
the Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology
of the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (Austria).

Symposium dates: 6–9 October 2025
Symposium venue: Faculty of Arts, Constantine the Philosopher University
in Nitra, Slovakia
Symposium language: English

Presentation formats: individual papers (20 min. presentation + 10 min. discussion), panels (three or four papers, including that of the coordinator,
90 min. including discussion), film presentation, and poster presentation.
The conference is planned to be held in a hybrid format, though adjustments to this plan remain possible.
A peer-reviewed publication from the symposium is expected to be issued in the series klanglese of the Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology
of the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.

Format of the proposal:
● Name
● Institutional affiliation or other professional references
● E-mail address
● Topic according to the call
● Presentation format
● Title and Abstract (max. 250 words for individual proposal/poster presentation/film presentation; panel: 150 words for each – panel description + panel contributions)

Please send the proposals to the Program Committee Chair, Jana Ambrózová,
at the following e-mail address: jambrozova@gmail.com.

TOPICS

1. Politics of representation of (Slavic) languages in ethnomusicology and folkloristics. Language in music and dance cultures.

Verbal art and language politics are fundamental to ethnomusicology. Numerous regions and countries, including Slavic-speaking ones, faced the formation of philological and anthropological research in traditional music when language politics were at the centre of intellectual debates, and language codification in many regions was an ongoing process. In a Herderian sense, the expressive potential of folk songs was considered a promoter of national language and culture. At the same time, ethnography faced dialect diversity and other forms of non-printed or non-printable language, which led to different solutions for text representation in song publications.

In traditional music cultures, language is an issue in its own right. In the same performance situation, singers may switch from dialect to standard language or between different languages in multilingual settings, including multilingual (Macaronic) songs.

We welcome proposals focusing on how language and language politics are dealt with in academic and vernacular settings. This includes monolingual and multilingual politics, debates on language hierarchies, the politics of text publication, the reflection of verbal art in traditional settings, and language barriers between local performers and fieldworkers at different levels.

2. Traditional music/dance and religion

The complex and multifaceted relationship between music, dance and religious practices is fundamental to the anthropology of music and dance. Not in all traditional societies, a distinction between secular and sacred music can be taken for granted. However, religious chanting, recitation in a church, synagogue, or mosque, or singing during Lent requires and shapes different expressive qualities than singing, playing and dancing at a wedding or in an informal after-work situation.

In many Slavic-speaking countries, romanticist ethnocentrism and the social-romanticist aspects of Marxism hampered the study of religious genres (vocal and instrumental), particularly religious chant’s impact on multipart texture and other style parameters of traditional music. A supposed dichotomy between quasi-autochthonous folk culture and an imposed, “alien” religion shaped popular and even academic discourse on traditional music.

Rather than reconstructing a “pagan” worldview and corresponding expressive behaviour, an anthropological perspective has to deal with the complex relationship between traditional culture and religion, considering the representation of religion and religious dignitaries in different genres. Another promising field is the most ambivalent attitude of religious figures to traditional expressive practices—from the ban on music and dance genres to the role of priests as ethnographers and ethnomusicologists.

Beyond the misleading concepts of antagonism and overall harmony, we invite you to discuss the relationship between religion and traditional music and dance.

3. The concept of region in the study of traditional music and dance

A region can be understood as a part of a larger territory defined by the occurrence of specific phenomena or a set of interrelated phenomena. The boundaries of a region can be determined by geographical, settlement-based, or demographic indicators (such as ethnicity, religion, and other factors). The spatial distribution of similar phenomena within a traditional folk culture (including traditional music and dance) or the presence of ethnic groups have historically prompted ethnologists to stratify territories into what is commonly referred to as ethnographic or cultural regions. Regional boundaries, however, are relatively fluid and subject to change. Their delineation is also shaped by its inhabitants‘ shared perceptions and imaginations expressed via cultural and social practices.

Regional identity, a sense of belonging to a specific cultural or ethnographic region, is articulated or strengthened through various expressions, including traditional music, dance, and related artistic forms. That is why the concept of the region has been, and in many cases continues to be, an important category of scholarly inquiry in ethnology and folkloristics. Examining musical and dance expressions within specific spatial (e.g., local, regional) contexts remains pertinent and justified across diverse research paradigms or archival methodology. Conversely, moving music and dance-related activities to the virtual world and cultural globalisation have the potential to blur or – on the other hand – intensify the differences in regional music and dance cultures or their symbolic representations, necessitating the development of tailored research strategies and interpretative frameworks.

We invite submissions addressing the following themes and issues:
● Regionalism in the context of ethnomusicological and ethnochoreological research and theory (past and present)
● Stratifications of ethnographic, cultural, or historical regions: their relevance and application in contemporary research in music and dance traditions
● „Regional“ musical and dance performance styles, genres, repertoires,
and their research and theoretical construction
● Musical and dance representations of regional identities as a research problem
● Musical and dance traditions in the regional borderlands
● Regional branding and development through musical and/or dance heritage
● Uncharted regional territories in ethnomusicological and ethnochoreological research in the 21st century

4. New research

Applicants are also invited to submit proposals addressing issues of general interest. The Program Committee expects new insights concerning theory and methods or unique findings with innovative potential for studying traditional music and dance in the Slavic world.

Important dates

● Abstract submission deadline: 31 March 2025
● Notification of acceptance (with or without revision) or non-acceptance: 30 April 2025
● Revised abstract submission deadline: 8 May 2025
● Notification of final acceptance or non-acceptance of revised abstracts: 15 May 2025

Membership
The Program Committee will only consider proposals from current ICTMD members in good standing for 2025. Membership application forms are available on the ICTM website. For membership questions, contact the ICTM Secretariat at www.ictmusic.org/ICTM/info.php.

Symposium fee

€ 60.00 – regular fee
€ 50.00 – early-bird fee (until 30 June 2025)
€ 35.00 – PhD students’ fee
€ 30.00 – PhD students’ early-bird fee (until 30 June 2025)

Program Committee

Jana Ambrózová (Nitra, Slovakia), Chair
Iryna Fedun (Lviv, Ukraine)
Jelena Jovanović (Belgrade, Serbia)
Ulrich Morgenstern (Vienna, Austria)
Łukasz Smoluch (Poznań, Poland)

Local Arrangements Committee

Alexandra Bachledová (Co-Chair)
Jana Ambrózová (Co-Chair)
Bernard Garaj
Margita Jágerová
Boris Michalík
Michaela Fúsková