About

The Centre for the Study of Sociology and Musical Aesthetics (CESEM) is a research unit based in Lisbon at NOVA FCSH. It includes associated research teams at the University of Évora, the Polytechnic Institutes in Lisbon and Porto, and independent researchers working elsewhere.

CESEM was founded in 1997 by Mário Vieira de Carvalho and is dedicated to the study of Music and its correlations with other arts and the social and cultural fields. It addresses multiple approaches – namely sociological, aesthetic, historical, philological, compositional, pedagogical, therapeutic, and performative – and engages with the most recent perspectives and methodological trends in the Social and Human Sciences. The centre has achieved international recognition in all these areas through its published output’s high quality and innovative character and holds the classification of Excellent by the FCT. An interdisciplinary approach is favoured through five research groups, eight thematic lines and five laboratories.

Several research projects are financed through national and international programs such as CEEC, Marie Curie Actions, Erasmus+, and a few researchers are part of COST Actions. CESEM is part of IN2PAST, the Associate Laboratory for Research and Innovation in Heritage, Arts, Sustainability, and Territory.

The centre strives to guarantee a good working environment, promoting the integration of researchers at a human and scientific level, gender equality, and transparent evaluation mechanisms.