2015-11-10

CfP: 9th Midterm Conference on Sociology of the Arts and Creativity

The 9th Midterm Conference of the Research Network Sociology of the Arts and Creativity on "Working on Identity and Differences" will take place September 8th-10th 2016 it the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Porto, Portugal. Co-organizers are the European Sociological Association and the Thematic Section Art, Culture and Communication of the Portuguese Association of Sociology. The ESA Research Network Sociology of the Arts aims to provide the sociological contexts for understanding the multifaceted and interwoven aspects which characterize the art worlds in societies nowadays. The general topic of this Conference focuses on arts and creativity, questioning the processes through which in an increasingly global, open, di erent and multicultural world artistic creativity is (re)defined, fostered, evaluated and asserted. Proposals can be submitted until February 15th, 2016.

The arts are undergoing deep changes in the social, cultural, economic and ecological environ- ments & governance frameworks in which they operate today. A speci c combination of various factors increases the challenges faced by arts and the potentialities for sociological inquiry. Some of these combined factors are: the international and local dynamics of cultural organizations and art markets, the volatility of private and public funding, the openness and uncertainty of evalua- tion and recognition of artistic work, the intrinsic nature of art work, the relationship of the arts to the creative economy and the related politics for the so-called creative agenda, the diverse and renewed forms of audiences participation, and the impact of art on social cohesion and identity-making.

Focusing the debate on the relationship between arts and plural societies, on the one side, and on the place and statute attributed to art by the new rhetoric of the creative agenda and the creative economy, on the other side, the Conference aims to critically debate the role of the arts as a pillar of cultural, social-ecological and socioeconomic development, of social cohesion and active citizenship, as well as on the processes of identities construction. Thus, the approach will focus on the diverse ways through which the arts are intertwining with processes of identity-making, both at individual and collective levels, and the material and symbolic reframing of social, economic and cultural di erences in contemporary societies.

The ESA RN Sociology of the Arts conference has always been open to other issues beyond those related to the main theme. This plasticity is highly valued since the Research Network aims to bring together researchers and support interchange and mutual learning. For this reason, the program will be thematically broad and open for presentations to all core areas of arts sociology.

Presentations can be related to following areas:

01RN02: Developments in particular domains in arts, including architecture, urban planning, applied arts, arts within the domain of popular culture (e.g. lm, television, and popular music) as well as traditional high arts (e.g. music, visual arts, literature, theatre, etc.).
02RN02: The process of production, distri- bution, promotion and commercialisation of works of art, including artistic practices, the impact of technology, new means of production, forms of collaboration, the formation of art theory, the development of arts markets, the process of valuation, etc.
03RN02: The process of presentation and mediation of arts, including art criticism and publicity in all domains of the arts, museums, theatres, concerts, audience studies, attitudes towards the audience, educational programs, etc.
04RN02: Professional development, including amateurs and semi-amateurs, vocational education, art schools, professional di erentiation, artistic income, artistic reputation, etc.
05RN02: Arts organisations (not only museums and theatres, but also festivals and artists unions) investigation of historical development, power relations, e ects, managerial processes, program selection, processes within the organisations such as gatekeeping, leadership, etc.
06RN02: Arts policy (especially the sociological aspects thereof), including legal issues, public and private funding, public discourse and debates (e.g. classification of art, arts and religious symbols, arts and sexuality, arts and
racism), censorship, analysis of the impact of arts, sustainability, lobbying associations, cultural ministries or other government bodies.
07RN02: Social and cognitive e ects of the arts, including arts and identity formation, arts and bodies, aesthetic experience, arts and ethics, coding and decoding, gender related practices, ethnographic aspects, art for social transformation, arts in communities, and arts as a part of urban culture.
08RN02: Arts from a macro-sociological perspective, including (de-)institutionalisation, economisation, globalisation vs. localism, digitalisation, mediamorphosis, arts and social cohesion, arts and ethics, arts and hegemony and arts and power.
09RN02: Theoretical development in arts sociology, such as the production of culture approach, (post-)structuralism, eld theory, system theory, praxeology as well as metho- dological issues.
10RN02: Arts and everyday life, including relations between art worlds and day-to-day worlds, the experiential and the sensory, embodied and mediated elements of practice and places, the social and cultural significance of the senses, the aesthetics of everyday life, and sociological or interdisciplinary approaches to the everyday and to daily and organisational life.
11RN02: Sociology of the Arts (open): papers that do not fit into one of the suggested ses- sions above should be submitted to this open session.

Papers and sessions will be rearranged when necessary after submission of abstracts and evaluation.

Types of Contributions

The language of the conference is English. The conference will feature:

keynote lectures;
parallel sessions with contributed papers (each paper session will have the duration of 90 mi-
nutes, including normally 4 papers);
distributed papers;
roundtables or workshops with particular re- search topics or approaches proposed by sub- mitting authors;
as well as creative workshops (minimum 45, maximum 90 minutes);
and musical jam sessions.

Instructions for authors of papers:

The abstract length should be approximately 300-400 words. Please submit your abstract and full contact details as an electronic file (word.doc file or open office .odt file) no later than February 15th, 2016. Acceptance of abstracts will be announced until March 31st, 2016. Registration deadline for presenting authors is May 31st, 2016. Send the abstract by email to the Conference Support (esa.arts2016@gmail.com) with Cc to (aps.artcultcom@gmail.com). The information requested during abstract submission include:

the name(s) of the author(s), the institutional a liation (both university and department), mailing address and email(s);
title of proposed presentation;
area of presentation;
up to 3-5 keywords.

Additional instructions for authors of proposals for workshops and roundtables:

Proposals for workshops and roundtables based on traditional academic-conference formats (impulse lectures, discussions, etc.) should be submitted by a group of at least 3 contributors (45 min.) or 5 contributors (90 min.). They should include a 500 words workshop description, and a 150-200 words description for each speci c individual speaker/contributor. The workshop description should include a detailed timetable justifying the requested duration (i.e. either 45 or 90 minutes). The proposal should justify the added value of the proposed workshop/roundtable format as compared to a regular papers session. The information requested during proposal submission include:

the name(s) of the main organizer(s), institutional a liation (both university and department), mailing address and email(s);
names and a liations of individual speakers/contributors;
title of proposed round-table/workshop;
area of presentation;
up to 3-5 keywords.

Additional instructions for authors of proposals for creative workshops:

In relation to the main thematic focus of the conference, we welcome proposals for creative workshops. The formats include presentations with interactive and practical exercises/activi- ties, where corporeal learning, embodied knowing and creative praxis can experientially come to the foreground, rather than being only described and/or analysed at the conference. Each proposal should be submitted by a group of at least 2 co-moderators.

Proposals should include a 500-700 words workshop description, and a description of the role of each workshop co-moderator, a detailed timetable with description of activities, justifying the requested duration (i.e. either 45 or 90 minutes) The proposal should justify the added value of the proposed creative workshop format as compared to a traditional workshop format. Creative workshop proposals that make use of diverse media and that approach the inter- and transdisciplinary crossings of sociological and artistic/arts-based research are especially encourgaed. The information requested during proposal submission include:

the names of the co-moderators, institutional a liations, mailing address and emails;
names and a liations of additional contributors;
title of proposed workshop;
thematic area;
up to 3-5 keywords.

Please note, for all submissions:

All abstracts and proposals must be written in English. Each abstract or workshop proposal should be sent as a separate electronic le (word .doc file or open office .odt files). Each author cannot submit more than one paper abstract (as first author), plus one roundtable, workshop or creative workshop contribution.

Open Call for musical jam sessions:

In relation to the conferences main thematic focus on arts and creativity, working on identity and difference, the conference will also include some time for participative creative sharing, around the practice of DIY music, improvisation and exchange. This is an invitation to all confe- rence presenters and all visitors with a musical background (whether amateur, semi-professional or professional), to either host/coordinate or participate in one of the daytime musical jam sessions during the conference. In this context, we ask potential participants to send us by email a short statement of interest, as an electronic file (word.doc file or open office .odt file), with the following information:

the speci c musical genre(s) and which musical instrument(s) (incl. singing) you practice;
previous experience (if any) in coordinating and/or participating in jam sessions;
possibility to bring an own musical instrument with you to Porto;
intention to contribute to a musical jam session with another contribution (e.g. movement/dance, VJing, etc.).

Fees

Students and PhD graduated in 2015 still not employed: 100;
Free-lance artists: 100;
Participants who are members of ESA: 150;
Participants from countries with a low gross national income (categories B and C in http://www.isa-sociology. org/table_c.htm): 150;
All other participants (non-ESA members, from coun- tries category A in http://www.isa-sociology.org/table_c. htm): 200.

Fees cover all catering services, etc. The proofs of status or afiliation should be presented during the Registration process. Active participants will have the option to register their co-authors (max. 2 persons) for the low fee (100).

Since 2000, the ESA Research Network Sociology of the Arts has organised a biannual conference on Sociology of the Arts. A key aim of these conferences is to promote the collaboration and academic exchange between scholars of the arts, to support the presentation of new research projects and to o er inspiration for the further development of the sociology of the arts.

Further information and guidelines will be on the Conference website: http:// esa-arts2016.eventqualia.net

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