CALL FOR PAPERS

 

East Meets West

Sino-Western Musical Relations / Intersections / Receptions / Representations 

The May Fourth Movement that took place almost a century ago began the modernization of Chinese culture. As a result, the country’s subsequent musical life and musical practices have been transformed by inter-cultural encounters. On the heels of the 90th anniversary of the May Fourth Movement, the Department of Music, Hong Kong Baptist University, announces an interdisciplinary conference focusing on Sino-Western (Europe, North America, and other ‘developed’ parts of the world) musical relations, intersections, receptions, and representations.   

Individuals interested in presenting papers at “East Meets West” are invited to submit abstracts referencing one or more of the following conference themes: 

• The intersection of Chinese and Western musical (and/or non-musical) elements in musical compositions
• Cultural diplomacy and Sino-Western musical exchanges and contacts
• Western discourses on / representations of Chinese music, including media
• Chinese / Asian aesthetics and Western music
• Nationality / modernity / hybridity and Chinese music (including Western-format Chinese music and/or musical culture) 
• Reflections on / history of Western influences on the development of Chinese music in the past century
• Globalization / commodification of Chinese music (both serious and popular) and musical practices
• The Westernization of Chinese music education
• Any other appropriate musical topics with an East / West axis or focus

 

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Prof. Frederick Lau (University of Hawaii, USA), Prof. Jonathan Stock (University of Sheffield, UK), and Prof. Cornelia Szabó-Knotik (Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, AT). Two performances—an ensemble concert devoted to “Cultural Melting Pot” music by the JohnChen Ensemble (HK); and a recital of Chinese piano music by Ross James Carey (NZ)—will also be featured. 

Send abstracts of no more than 250 words in English (for paper of 20 minutes in length) by MONDAY 3, NOVEMBER 2008 to Dr. Hon-Lun Yang at <hlyang@hkbu.edu.hk>. Each abstract should include its author’s name, institutional affiliation, telephone number, and email address. Authors will receive replies by Monday, 1 December 2008. 

A cash grant of HK$2500 will be awarded to overseas (non-Hong Kong resident), paper-presenting participants. Revised texts of some or all presentations may be incorporated as chapters in a book or a volume of conference proceedings, to be edited by the conference organizers. 

Conference Co-organizers:

      Dr. Hon-Lun Yang (Hong Kong Baptist University), e-mail: hlyang@hkbu.edu.hk,

            tel: +852/3411-7329, fax: +852/3411-7870

      Prof. Ho Wai Chung (Hong Kong Baptist University), e-mail: tediwch@hkbu.edu.hk.  

      Prof. Michael Saffle (Virginia Tech, USA), e-mail: msaffle@vt.edu