Call for papers for International Conference “Variações sobre António.”

The conference «Variações sobre António» is intent, therefore, on studying not only the work of the singer-songwriter but also what in it relates to far-reaching phenomena: one of which (and perhaps amog the more important) is the ways by which the post-1974 revolution portuguese culture tried to be in and out of sync with the outside world and, specifically, with the culture and civilization that had emerged out of the 1960’s, mainly the one broadly referred to as pop. The conference was devised by the Doctoral Program in Materialities of Literature (Programa de Doutoramento em Materialidades da Literatura) and of the Arts Studies field of study, both of FLUC (University of Coimbra, School of Arts). It is currently backed by the Center for Portuguese Literature (Centro de Literatura Portuguesa), by Centro de Estudos Interdisciplinares do Século XX, Teatro Académico de Gil Vicente, Rádio Universidade de Coimbra and Jazz ao Centro Clube.

Other partners of the conference are: project Keep It Simple, Make It Fast, headed by Paula Guerra; Núcleo de Estudos em Género e Música, headed by Paula Gomes-Ribeiro; and the project Mural Sonoro, headed by Soraia Simões. All of the aforementioned entities will be represented at the conference’s Scientific Committee.

The conference will take place on the first week of December 2017 (7th and 8th), and it may extend to three days depending on the number of participants. Inscription fees will be requested. The conference was sketched as comprising as main targets the following disciplinary fields: musicology, arts studies, literary studies, intermedia studies, cultural studies, social sciences, media and communication, contemporary history.

We invite researchers to present talks exploring the following thematic range:

1.      Variações’ music, between portuguese rock, pop, fado and folk
2.      Variações’ lyrics: from popular (or fake) poetry to pop lyrics
3.      Text & Sound, Image & Body: performance and intermediality in Variações
4.      Identity, resistence and excess: queer, glam and camp
5.      Records: production; record industry
6.      Production and handling of Variações’ media impact
7.      Culture and society in Variações’ Portugal
8.      Legacy and reinvention of Variações

Conference proposals should be rendered until June 16, 2017, through EasyChair (https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=cv2017). Pannels up to three lectures can also be suggested. Lecture drafts will have 500 to 1000 words (including references). The results of the evaluation will become public by July 16, 2017. Proposals in portuguese, english, spanish, french and italian will be accepted.

The conference will display a side, complementary program, comprising a concert and performances. As to the first item, the Organising committee will challenge bands around the Coimbra area to reinvent Variações’ music in a concert to take place at TAGV; as for the performative side, a Call for Performances is available, under the title «Performatic variations on António» (the selected performances will take at Sala do Carvão, at Coimbra University Bolier House, and at Salão Brazil.

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