The Department for Comparative Studies of Civilizations of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow holds an International Interdisciplinary Conference on Music and Genocide.

November 16-17, 2012.

On first glance no two experiences could be further away from each other than genocide and music. The world of mass murder seems to be the opposite of the world of spirituality. When the machine of death is operating there is no space for contemplation that music brings. Yet live culture usually goes beyond rational divisions. In the magma of history opposites meet, horror and exultation can go hand in hand. The conference 'Music and Genocide' is an attempt to stimulate collective thinking about the sonic dimension of genocide.

The conference is meant to be a meeting of different cultures and disciplines. It hopes to welcome speakers of diverse geographical and academic background: scholars in cultural studies, ethnomusicologists, philosophers, sociologists, historians, psychologists, musicians coming from all continents.

The conference will be held in the Museum of Japanese Art and Technique 'Manggha' and Center for Comparative Studies of Civilizations, both located in Krakow. The official language of the conference is English. No translation will be provided.

Authors are invited to submit abstracts in .doc and .pdf format to musicandgenocide@ymail.com. Abstracts must be written in English and should contain no more than 1000 characters. The deadline for submission is 30 May 2012.

Read more about the Call for Papers Music and Genocide.