Red Strains: Music and Communism outside the Communist Bloc after 1945

Red Strains: Music and Communism outside the Communist Bloc after 1945

The British Academy, London: Thursday 13 January – Saturday 15 January 2011

Proposals are invited for this conference, to be held at the British Academy in London, in conjunction with the University of Nottingham.

The relationship between state communism and music behind the Iron Curtain has been the subject of much scholarly interest. The importance of communism for musicians outside the communist bloc, by contrast, has received little sustained attention. This conference aims to examine:

– the nature and extent of individual musicians’ involvement with communist organisations and parties;
– the appeal and reach of different strands of communist thought (e.g. Trotskyist; Castroist; Maoist);
– the significance of music for communist parties and groups (e.g. groups’ cultural policies; use of music in rallies and meetings);
– the consequences of communist involvement for composition and music-making;
– how this involvement affected musicians’ careers and performance opportunities in different countries.

Further details on conference themes, keynote speakers and format of proposals: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/music/communism

Deadline for proposals: Friday 18 June 2010. Programme announced and registration open: Monday 19 July 2010.

Dr Robert Adlington (Conference Organiser) Department of Music, University of Nottingham. Robert.Adlington@nottingham.ac.uk.

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Biography and identity in the making of British radicals

Biography and identity in the making of British radicals
Saturday, 22 May 2010, Swansea Museum

A one-day conference in commemoration of the life and work of Nina Fishman, late Honorary Research Professor at Swansea University, also marking the Swansea launch of Nina’s Arthur Horner: A Political Biography (Lawrence and Wishart, 2010).

Sponsored by: The Richard Burton Centre for the Study of Wales, Swansea University and the Socialist History Society

1000: Coffee and Welcome by Dr Hywel Francis MP

1030: Andrew Thorpe (Exeter University): ‘Nina Fishman’s Arthur Horner and labour biography‘

1130: David Howell (York University): ‘“The district one calls home”: D. H. Lawrence’s writing on coalfield society‘

1230: Lunch

1330: Peter Ackers (Loughborough University): ‘More Marx than Methodism: Hugh Clegg and Kingswood School‘

1430: Angela John (Aberystwyth University): ‘Equal partners? Gender and the writing of biography‘

1530: Chris Williams (Swansea University): ‘Robert Owen and Wales. Wales and Robert Owen‘

1630: Tea and Close

Swansea Museum is located close to the city centre at Victoria Road, The Maritime Quarter, Swansea, SA1 1SN.

Coffees and teas will be available at the venue. For lunch people will need to bring their own or take advantage of nearby cafes, pubs etc.

Copies of Arthur Horner: A Political Biography will be on sale at the event throughout the day.

If further information is required please contact Prof. Chris Williams (Swansea University) on christopher.m.williams@swansea.ac.uk, or 07814 234403.