Sociomusicology: October 2023

10/31/23

Barents Tour

It was a great pleasure to learn today that Sympathetic Resonance Trio has been awarded some funding from the Norwegian Barents Secretariat. This will enable us to work on project development and concert planning in the Kirkenes area, along the Russian border in the far Northeast of Norway.

We hope our songs from Norway, Russia, and the United States, will encourage the diverse peoples of that region (which has long depended on mutually-beneficial trade with Russia) by sharing some collective hope as we all eagerly await a return to peaceful and prosperous cooperation.

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirkenes#/media/File:View_of_Kirkenes.jpg

10/24/23

Courses in Doctoral Supervision

via GIPHY

This year, 2023, will be my fourth year of doing some teaching for the annual university-wide faculty professional development course on Doctoral Supervision at University of Bergen UPED 691: Becoming a Supervisor: Community, Expertise, Dialogue. Each time this course has quite interesting discussions, and includes lecturers and young professors from a vast array of academic fields, so I look forward to it.

I am now developing a similar course for faculty at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences through the Global Competence Partnership project. Also, I am now authoring a book chapter that discusses this topic through a critical literature review as well as reflections on my own experiences as a PhD student and mentor. There is so much to say about this topic, and I am hopeful that the chapter will be useful for readers.

Here are links to postings about previous years in which I taught for this course: https://sociomusicology.blogspot.com/2020/10/doctoral-supervision-course.html

Keynote Speech for Higher Arts Education conference in China

There will soon be a very interesting opportunity to offer a keynote speech (through videoconferencing) titled “Recent Developments in Arts Diplomacy and Arts Education Policies,” for the conference Traditional, Ethnic, Global: Forum on Higher Education Art and Traditional Arts Education from an International Perspective.

This conference is hosted by China's leading law faculty at one of the world's most selective universities, China University of Political Science and Law.

10/23/23

Decolonisation of Academia

There will soon be a public event at University of Bergen called Decolonisation of Academia. I am one of the invited speakers for it, and look forward to the discussion. It is hosted by SAIH, the Norwegian Students' and Academics' International Assistance Fund. Below is an announcement about the event from SAIH-Bergen:

Decolonization is an important topic within the field of academic freedom. Within academia decolonization can be discussed in relevance to curriculum, scientific methods and university culture. Questions such as : ‘’What is valuable knowledge?’’ or ‘’What is valid research?’’ can make us reflect upon old colonial influence and how it is constraining science and corrupting power relations within academia. Approaching this topic from both international and Norwegian perspectives will help in understanding the recent efforts and discoveries in achieving decolonization. At its core, decolonization within academia aims to restructure power systems which do not support adequate development of research and by extension, society.

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In this panel discussion we have the following panelists:

- Anwesha Dutta, PI of an NFR (NORGLOBAL) project, "Prioritising the Displacement-Environment Nexus: Refugee and IDP Settlements as Social- Ecological Systems."

- Carmeliza Soares da Costa Rosário, postdoctoral researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) and a Development and Social Anthropologist.

- Lise Rakner, PI of Norhed: epistemologies Decolonizing Epistemologies: Disciplines and the University in Relation to the Society and the World (NORHED II).

- Wesley Maraire, a guest researcher and affiliate at the Centre on Law & Social Transformation: CMI (University of Bergen).

- David Gabriel Hebert, who has contributed to the fields of comparative education and East Asian Studies.

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The panel will be moderated by Morgan Alangeh.

Location: Ulriken Aula, Ulrikes Pihls Hus, Professor Keysers gate 1, 5007 Bergen

This event is part of Internasjonale Uke.

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Here are some recent publications that have aimed to decolonize approaches to philosophy of education as well as both teaching and research activity in music history, music education, and music performance studies in higher education:

Theory and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology (2014, Rowman & Littlefield)
Music Glocalization: Heritage and Innovation in a Digital Age (2018, Cambridge Scholars)
World Music Pedagogy VII: Teaching World Music in Higher Education (Routledge, 2021)
Ethnomusicology and Cultural Diplomacy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022)
Comparative and Decolonial Studies in Philosophy of Education (Springer, 2023)
Shared Listenings: Methods for Transcultural Musicianship and Research (Cambridge University Press, 2023).

Some of my recent projects have introduced principles of decolonization through international cooperation:

10/11/23

Music in Action: Grieg Research School

For PhD candidates, post-docs, postgraduate students and senior researchers ... the GRS Autumn Course Music in Action will run from November 28-30, 2023. The event is organized by the Grieg Research School in Interdisciplinary Music Studies and is hosted by The University of Agder.

Also, I am pleased to mention that as of a few weeks ago I am now serving on the GRS Board, which was part of what brought me to Norway over a decade ago. I am glad this promise has been kept, and I now have an opportunity to contribute to GRS as expected.

Link to event announcement:

https://www.uib.no/en/rs/grieg/163696/music-action

INVITATION

Music in Action

The theme of the course is 'Music in Action' and will explore the ways in which music acts in complex social, cultural, educational, and historical contexts. Music in Action invites presentations on how musical practices encounter and engage with society. The meeting points between artistic and scholarly approaches to research in music – such as applied or practice-based research – is of particular interest. An overarching question for the call is How can research in and with music can understand, analyse, and even initiate musical practices that act in complex social, cultural, educational, and historical contexts?

The course will feature presentations and discussions convened by researchers from key research groups/projects based in UiA's Faculty of fine arts, including researchers and topics from:

You may choose to engage in a dialogue with one or more of these groups and their areas of research in your presentations (please specify in your abstract if you wish to do so).

Specific questions to address include, but are not limited to:

How can research in and with music create new approaches to questions of health, social justice, and sustainability?
How can musical experiences and practices play a dynamic role in dealing with complex and potentially conflicting social conditions?
What role can/does music play in children’s and young people’s lives?
How can we educate musicians as socially engaged artists?
How can we improve, develop and discover new interdisciplinary methodological approaches to how we study and present music?
How can we revitalize music pedagogy and arts education in the school of the future?

GRS courses are an interdisciplinary space that fosters critical and constructive dialogue. The format of presentations is flexible, and we invite performances, multimedia presentations, posters, panel discussions, and workshops, in addition to the usual oral presentations. Other formats that utilize our fields and ways of doing and disseminating research in music are also welcomed.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Abstracts are welcomed from any Ph.D. Candidates, Post-docs, Masters’ students, supervisors and researchers from any institution. The event is free for all registered participants.

Deadline for abstracts is 12th October. Follow this link to submit an abstract:

https://skjemaker.app.uib.no/view.php?id=15634751

ECTS CREDITS

Ph.D. candidates can gain 3 or 5 ECTS credit points for active participation during this course and have the option of presenting on the main theme of the course OR on their own research project. These presentations will receive feedback from senior researchers and peers.

REGISTRATION

Registrations are now open. Follow this link:

https://forms.microsoft.com/e/mGEwGSTHCW

10/9/23

Kyambogo University Delegation in Bergen

We are excited to be hosting a delegation of special guests from Kyambogo University (Kampala, Uganda) for two weeks (16-26 October 2023). The Ugandan guests are coming through support of the CABUTE project. They will have the opportunity to receive research mentoring, use university libraries and offices, observe teaching, and visit rehearsals of several music ensembles in the Bergen area.

Click HERE to see the program for the 2023 CABUTE symposium at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.

I greatly enjoyed visiting Kyambogo University last year, which is soon launching a PhD program in Music Education. The university especially plays an important role in the field of teacher education in Uganda. Shown here are the Kyambogo University logo and an image of the new university gate to be erected in the coming months.

Philosopher Kathleen Higgins in Bergen

I am very pleased to announce that we were able to invite philosopher Kathleen Higgins to visit Bergen in a few weeks. She is an extraordinary scholar. Below is the poster for this event and the covers of several books for which Prof. Higgins is an author, co-author, or editor. Her visit to Norway is co-sponsored by the Grieg Academy Music Education research group and the Bergen Network for Women in Philosophy.

Click HERE to see the announcement of this event at University of Bergen.

I am happy to report that a photo I took of three women philosophers at this event later became the cover for the University of Bergen philosophy department's brochure ...

Below are some of the many books for which Kathleen Higgins is an author, co-author or editor ...

Welcome to Sociomusicology

For over 15 years (since 2007), this website has offered musings on contemporary society and its music by David G. Hebert, PhD. He is a sociomusicologist specializing in global music education who has held academic positions with universities on five continents. Dr. Hebert is now a tenured full Professor with Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen. There he leads the Grieg Academy Music Education (GAME) research group and manages the multinational government-funded Nordic Network for Music Education, which organizes annual intensive Master courses and exchange of teachers and students across eight countries. He is also an Affiliated Professor with University of the Faroe Islands and an Honorary Professor in China with the Education University of Hong Kong.

Professor Hebert's research applies an international-comparative perspective to issues of pluralism, identity, and cultural relevance in music education, as well as processes by which new music traditions emerge and change - both sonically and socially - as they are adopted into institutions. Born in the 1970s, he is among the most widely-published and globally-active music scholars of his generation (h-index:20; i10-index:30), with professional activities in an average of 8 countries per year across the past decade (2008-2020).

Publications and Activities

Recent Books: * Wind Bands and Cultural Identity in Japanese Schools (2012, Springer), *Theory and Method in Historical Ethnomusicology (2014, Lexington) * Patriotism and Nationalism in Music Education (2016, Routledge) * International Perspectives on Translation, Education, and Innovation in Japanese and Korean Societies (2018, Springer), *Music Glocalization: Heritage and Innovation in a Digital Age (2018, Cambridge Scholars),*Advancing Music Education in Northern Europe (2019, Routledge), *Teaching World Music in Higher Education (2020, Routledge), *Ethnomusicology and Cultural Diplomacy (2022, Rowman & Littlefield), *Shared Listenings: Methods for Transcultural Musicianship and Research (2023, Cambridge University Press), *Comparative and Decolonial Studies in Philosophy of Education (2023, Springer). *Perspectives on Music, Education, and Diversity (2024, in press, Springer). *A Philosophy of Music Education for the Era of AI: Dialogue Between Chinese and Western Perspectives (2025, forthcoming, Routledge).

Articles in 35 different professional journals and chapters in 10 other books.

Full List of Publications: http://sociomusicology-icom.blogspot.no/

Keynote Speaker - Across recent years, Professor Hebert has had keynote speeches in Poland, Germany, Uzbekistan, China, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Tanzania, and Thailand, and chaired two sessions at ISA-Japan.

Singing Opera & Art Songs / Reviews of My Books.