XXX European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM)
 

The XXX European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESEM) took place from September 3-7, 2014, in Prague, the Czech Republic, hosted by the Institute for Ethnomusicology of the Faculty of Humanities of Charles University.
 
The basic thematic frame of the conference was “Crossing Bridges”, inspired by the venue: Prague, a metropolis not only on both banks of a river, but also combining in history – in the words of Bruno Nettl (1993) – “Czech and German languages and cultures,” and “reaching an equilibrium between Christians and Jews.” The visible shape of Prague witnesses transmission and crossing at each step. “And it is exactly here, in the dynamics of the most various interactions, that we see a metaphor for the seminar”, as the Organizers state.
 
Thirty presentations, among them a keynote speech from Bruno Nettl (via skype), panels, ordinary papers, and poster presentations were held in accordance to following proposed themes:
1) Across generations focuses on the diachronic aspect – on the narratives and
interpretations that provide human society with continuity (Assman 2001) and give it a  perspective from which to look at the future (Hall 1996).
2) Journeys, migrations, and diaspora focus on the synchronic dimension, on
contemporary events and their impact on human interaction across geopolitical, cultural and social boundaries, on the effects of that interaction on music and musical life.
3) Moving across paradigms puts the focus on the theory that formulates and refines
questions and helps explain the human creativity and musical expression that result from historical events (the focus of “Across generations”) and contemporary phenomena (the focus of “Journeys”).
 
Two staff members of the institute presented papers focusing on minority issues:

Ursula Hemetek
Roma music in Austria across generations

Marko Kölbl
What should we sing? Continuity and Discontinuity of musical forms and genres among the Croatian minority in Austria