Keynote Speakers

• Professor Tina K. Ramnarine (Royal Holloway, University of London)
  • ‘Artifact and Aspiration: Notes on Music, Minorities and Cosmologies in the Subarctic’
• Professor Philip Ross Bullock (Wadham College, University of Oxford)
  • ‘Fire and Ice: Sonic Survival and Soviet Pianism in the GULag’
• Dr Aimar Ventsel & Eleanor Peers (University of Tartu; Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford)
  • ‘Singing the Universe: the Political Ecologies of Sakha Popular Music’

Call for Papers

Rationale

Despite the perceived quietude of the vast empty white spaces of the Arctic and the boreal forests of the sub-Arctic, music has had and continues to occupy a central place in the lives of its inhabitants. The regions are home to some of the world’s most popular composers, musicians, and pop groups. For the (sub-)Arctic’s Indigenous communities, music can function as a form of empowerment, identity expression, community healing and linguistic and cultural revitalisation.

As the Arctic’s ice melts, tensions rise. The receding ice of the Arctic is increasingly heating up geopolitical debates on ownership of the region and the precious resources locked away beneath its ice caps. This has caused a renewed interest in the area, especially for those countries that are situated within, or close to, the (sub-)Arctic zone. The mounting geopolitical tensions and effects of climate change have their effect on the regions’ populations; some of whom belong to the richest nations in the world. This two-day conference aims to bring together scholars from various disciplines to consider music in the region in the widest sense possible. Papers can focus on any genre of music as well as any period, or combinations thereof. 

Geographical definition of the (sub-)Arctic

The sub-Arctic and Arctic are geographical regions in the Northern Hemisphere. The sub-Arctic starts around 50N latitude and the regions include Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the north of Scotland, Fennoscandia, North Russia, and Siberia.

Topics

The following topics are of relevance, but are not limited to:

• Identities and music
• Place and music
• Representation of Indigenous communities in music
• The development of various musical genres in the (Sub-)Arctic
• Resilience through music
• Revitalisation through music
• Community building through music
• Community healing through music
• Music as a response to climate change
• Music as a response to (geo)political tensions
• The sounds and soundscape of the (sub-)Arctic
• Music events, festivals, concerts in the (sub-)Arctic
• Traditional instruments and vocal techniques
• Forms of lyrical expression
• Music as a form of protest and social criticism
• Traditions and music
• Music and borealism
• Music and colonialism, postcolonialism, decolonialism, or anticolonialism
• Reception of music from the (sub-)Arctic outside the region(s)

Disciplines (not limited to)

Musicology, music theory, sound studies, cultural studies, ethnography, sociology, popular music studies, history, music pedagogy, sociocultural linguistics, area studies, folklore, anthropology, psychology, Indigenous studies

Practical Information

Submission deadline: 15 April 2026

Notification of acceptance: 22 April 2026

Length of abstracts: 300 words (excluding references, including title)

Length of bio: 150 words

Submission: please email your name, affiliation, mode of attendance (in-person/online*), and abstract to: charlotte.doesburg@music.ox.ac.uk

A selection of the talks will be published in a peer-reviewed edited volume after the conference.

There will be an optional three-course conference dinner at one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford on one of the nights.  

We especially welcome abstracts from (graduate) students, early career researchers, and those who have been historically marginalised within academia. We are committed to making the conference as accessible as possible for everyone. If you have any access needs for presentations or attendance, please let us know upon acceptance of your abstract or when registering and we will work with you to fulfil these needs. Although we warmly encourage everyone to attend in person, this might not be feasible for everyone. In case you prefer to present online, please let us know when submitting your abstract.

For more information, email the organisers:

Charlotte Doesburg (University of Oxford): charlotte.doesburg@music.ox.ac.uk

Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi (University College London, Uppsala University): r.valijarvi@ucl.ac.uk