Applicant deadline nears for 'Music as Resistance to Genocide' workshop at University of Southern California

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Scholars have until March 1 to submit applications for presenting their work at an international workshop this fall titled "Music as Resistance to Genocide" at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Organized by the Center for Advanced Genocide Research (http://sfi.usc.edu/cagr) at the USC Shoah Foundation in collaboration with the USC Thornton School of Music, the event on Oct. 26, 2015 will aim to enhance the understanding of how to resist genocidal processes. 

The Center is soliciting applications from scholars for papers focused on the general question: "What role does music play for individuals or groups of people to effectively resist genocide or other forms of mass violence?"

The forum is open to researchers of any discipline whose work explores the Holocaust or other genocides such as the ones committed in Guatemala, Cambodia and Rwanda, as well as incidents of systematic mass violence against a minority population. The workshop will include paper presentations and discussions as well as musical performances.

The Center seeks the following:

• Case studies on resisting individual musicians or musical groups such as orchestras or bands during genocides ranging from colonial conflicts of the 19^th century to more contemporary examples.
• Analytical work on how music served as instrument of resistance.
• Explorations on how music was an outlet for resistance in countries whose conflicts did not turn genocidal, such as South Africa.
• Participants to discuss music and resistance from a theoretical standpoint, drawing on resources from disciplines such as psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, and anthropology.
• Other applicable contributions.

The Center invites papers that address the following research questions: When does playing or composing music constitute resistance toward mass violence?  Can music support resistance?  How do we classify oppositional music? How does music that was originally not written as an oppositional act become resistance? Are certain kinds of music more oppositional than others?  Which has greater impact -- individual or group music activities, and can either help stop the violent radicalization of a genocidal society? Which cultural traditions support the development of musicians or music opposed to violence? Do unauthorized performances in hidden or private quarters have the same impact as public performances?

The University of Southern California provides unique research resources: the USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive with nearly 52,000 video interviews from survivors and eyewitnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, Doheny Memorial Library with the Lion Feuchtwanger collection, a new Holocaust and Genocide studies collection, and private papers of persecuted musicians such as the Hanns Eisler papers.

Please send a CV and a one-page abstract of the proposed paper before March 1, 2015 to [email protected].

About Center for Advanced Genocide Research 

The USC Shoah Foundation Center for Advanced Genocide Research is dedicated to advancing new areas of interdisciplinary research on the Holocaust and other genocides. One area of research addresses the fundamental question of what enables people to oppose or resist racist ideologies, state discrimination practices, or the active participation in mass atrocities. Other research interests include Research on Violence, Emotion and Behavioral Change and Digital Genocide Studies.

About USC Thornton School of Music

The USC Thornton School of Music is one of the premiere music schools in the United States and has been at the forefront of Holocaust education for many years.  It was the first music school in the United States to offer courses in music related to the Holocaust and other genocides, and it was represented on the California Legislature citizens committee that helped draft successful legislation mandating the teaching of genocide awareness in California schools.

About USC Shoah Foundation

USC Shoah Foundation — The Institute for Visual History and Education is dedicated to making audio- visual interviews with survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides, a compelling voice for education and action. The Institute's current collection of more than 53,000 eyewitness testimonies contained within its Visual History Archive preserves history as told by the people who lived it, and lived through it. Housed at the University of Southern California, within the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the Institute works with partners around the world to advance scholarship and research, to provide resources and online tools for educators, and to disseminate the testimonies for educational purposes.

Contact: Josh Grossberg 213-740-6065
[email protected]
Rob Kuznia 213-740-0965
[email protected]

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SOURCE USC Shoah Foundation