Newsletter No. 2 from 25th of March 2010

Dear colleagues and friends,

In this second Newsletter of the junior research group "Music, Conflict and
the State" in 2010, we report on upcoming and past events and the current
work of the group, as well as giving some information on resources related to
our topic.

Content:

Events
• Research Meetings in Summer Semester 2010
• Next MCS workshop to focus on Sierra Leone, 28.05.2010
• Symposium „Composers in the Gulag under Stalin“, 16.-19.06.2010
Report on past events
• Report from first MCS workshop “Religion, culture and conflict in Northertn
Ireland and former Yugoslavia"
Further information
• Ruanda: International Criminal Tribunal upholds conviction and sentence of
musician Simon Bikindi
• Freemuse – The World Forum on Music and Censorship
• zero dB [against music torture]
• Article about music as instrument of torture


- Events -

RESEARCH MEETINGS IN SUMMER SEMESTER 2010
Dates: 19.4., 5.5., 17.5., 14.6., 5.7.

From Summer Semester 2010, the research group will open its regular research
meetings to all who are interested in contributing. The format of the
research meetings is informal, and provides a chance to discuss work in
progress by members and associates of the group, relevant literature, and to
network with scholars working in related areas on the Göttingen Research
Campus. The meetings take place in the Lecture Room (Hörsaal) of the
Department of Musicology, Kurze Geismar Strasse 1 in Göttingen. The programme
for the coming Summer Semester is as follows
(updated programme will shortly be available under
http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/139043.html)

Programme (provisional):
All meetings will be held in German

19. April M. J. Grant, Hate music or children's song? Sectarianism,
football, and the strange case of the "Hokey Cokey"

5. May (Wed.!) Simone Münz, The role of music in radio broadcasts of the
Cuban diaspora in Miami
im Rahmen des Doktorandenkolloquiums des
Musikwissenschaftlichen Seminars

17. May Literature session (discussion of a text read in preparation,
full details to follow)

14. June Christian Storch, Music and missions

5. July Music, the Third Reich, and the "8 Stages of Genocide":
Discussion of the first draft of the article co-authored by members of the
research group


28.05.2010

NEXT MCS WORKSHOP TO FOCUS ON SIERRA LEONE

The workshop held in January (see report below) proved to be a successful and
productive format. As a result the research group has decided to stage
similar workshops on a regular basis. The next, to be held on 28 May 2010,
will focus on the civil war on Sierra Leone and the role of music and youth
culture during the war and in its aftermath. The programme will be announced
in mid-April; keynote speaker will be Prof. Paul Richards (link
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/staff/p_richards/index).
Places are limited: anyone interested in joining us should contact Mareike
Jacobs (mareike.jacobs@stud.uni-goettingen.de).


16.-19.06.2010
SYMPOSIUM „COMPOSERS IN THE GULAG UNDER STALIN“

In the last newsletter we reported on the symposium "Composers in the Gulag
under Stalin" which will take place in the Department of Musicology Göttingen
from 16.-19. June.
The current programme can be found here:
http://wwwuser.gwdg.de/~citg/programm_d.html

- Report on past events -

REPORT FROM FIRST MCS WORKSHOP “RELIGION, CULTURE AND CONFLICT IN NORTHERN
IRELAND AND FORMER YUGOSLAVIA”

On 29 January 2010, researchers from Ljubljana, Belfast and London came
together with members of the research group “Music, Conflict and the State”
to discuss how cultural practices including music can be implicated in
various stages of an armed conflict, focusing on Northern Ireland and former
Yugoslavia. The first two presentations discussed visual symbols
(particularly murals) in Belfast and how they reflect different and changing
allegiances vis-a-vis Protestant paramilitary groups (Dr. Dominic Bryan), and
how the long-standing tradition of Protestant marching bands has begun to
reinvent itself as a positive symbol of community in the post-conflict phase
(Dr. Jackie Witherow). Prof. Svanibor Pettan (University of Ljubljana) then
gave a brief overview of issues of cultural and religious identity preceding
the wars in former Yugoslavia, and then focused on the Romani population in
Kosovo, renowned as the keepers of musical traditions of different
communities in the region, but whose plight as refugees in the post-war
period has been largely overlooked. Dr. Rachel Beckles Willson and Prof. John
Sloboda (both Royal Holloway Unversity of London) contributed to a final
discussion focussing on methodological issues related to the study of music
in conflict situations.


- Further information -

RWANDA: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL UPHOLDS CONVICTION AND SENTENCE OF
MUSICIAN SIMON BIKINDI

The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has
upheld the conviction of Simon Bikindi for direct and public incitement to
genocide, and confirmed the 15-year custodial sentence he was given in
December 2008. Bikindi, who in the early 1990s was probably the most popular
musician in Rwanda, was charged with several counts of genocide and
incitement to genocide, including in connection with his songs and public
performances. The original judgement acquitted him on many counts although
stressed the belief of the trial chamber that Bikindi’s songs were in fact
instrumental in the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were
murdered. They upheld a charge that Bikindi had directly called for the
murder of members of the Tutsi ethnic group at the height of the killing in
June 1994. Both the prosecution and the defence had appealed the decision.
The appeal judgement can be found here:
http://www.ictr.org/ENGLISH/cases/Bikindi/decisions/100318_apl.pdf

MCS research group leader M. J. Grant is currently preparing a paper on the
trial of Bikindi, focusing on the judicial treatment of his music and his
status as a musician.


FREEMUSE – THE WORLD FORUM ON MUSIC AND CENSORSHIP

Freemuse is an international organisation established in Copenhagen, Denmark,
in 1998, to advocate for freedom of musical expression worldwide. Their
internet platform offers a wealth of information about music and censorship
worldwide.
www.freemuse.org

ZERO DB [AGAINST MUSIC TORTURE]

Zero dB is an initiative that works against the misuse of music as an
instrument of torture. It is supported by the Musicians' Union
(http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk) and the Organisation Reprieve, that stands
up to enforce the human rights of prisoners throughout the world
(http://www.reprieve.org.uk).
http://www.zerodb.org/

MUSIC AS INSTRUMENT OF TORTURE

The German online-magazine Spiegel online released the interesting Artikel
„Hören mit Schmerzen“ on 11.01.2010 which discusses the use of music as an
instrument of torture in the so called "war on terror"
http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,671000,00.html

Best wishes,
The Research Group "Music, Conflict and the State"