The programme is : here

This international symposium analyses the connections between musical practices, political

positions, discourse and knowledge in democratic societies. It also examines the actions

implemented by various bodies (governments, regional and local authorities, associations,

etc.) and the institutionalisation processes these engender. In which contexts and in what

forms does music intersect with democratic issues, both in theory and in action? How do

musical practices fit into the political arena? How efficient are they? Do they make a real

impact? Can they contribute to weaving social ties that other forces tend to unravel? How

do we explain that music is so often cited in the shaping of a fairer, more equal society?

What does the conception of music as a ‘common good’ imply?

These questions on the place of music in democratic societies will be examined through a

diversified historical and geographical lens that spans revolutionary Europe to contemporary

Japan via the United States in the New Deal era and the German Democratic Republic. The

shifting definitions of ‘culture’, ‘art’ and ‘people’ will be at the core of discussion, as well as

the processes involved in building new legitimacies or challenging established ones. Last, we

will aim to understand how music can become a vector for defining or affirming identity in

plural societies and in the larger context of the debates on immigration and multiculturalism