Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education (ACT) Call for Papers
Special Issue – Colloquium 35 (Philosophy & Theory)
Guest Editors: Anita Prest & Hector Vazquez-Cordoba
We now invite those scholars whose proposals were accepted and who presented at the MayDay Group Colloquium 35 at the University of Victoria in June 2024 to submit papers to ACT based on and extending from their colloquium presentations for a special issue commemorating the knowledge shared at this colloquium. The MayDay Group Colloquium 35 centered on MayDay’s Theory and Philosophy action ideal. Authors should explicitly demonstrate how their submission aligns with ACT’s mandate to publish rigorous scholarship on critical, analytical, theoretical, and policy development themes of international interest that—in this issue—illuminate, extend, or challenge the MayDay Group Theory and Philosophy Action Ideal.
Theory and Philosophy
We actively engage with and generate theory and philosophy to understand the relationship(s) between musical actions and their contextual meanings and values.
We account for the fullest range of meanings and modes of thinking inherent in individual and collective musical actions. This requires asking new questions and developing robust toolkits for understanding and theorizing how we position and are positioned as part of larger groups and practices operating within multiple layers of social, cultural, spiritual, geographical, historical, and political contexts. In so doing, we work to avoid the trappings of narrative frameworks that may oppress or misrepresent the contexts in which we seek greater theoretical and philosophical understandings. We embrace pluralism in knowledge construction (e.g., Indigenous, queer, feminist) which promotes interpretations of musical actions from multiple worldviews and creates more equitable representation.
For this colloquium, we invited scholars to consider the following questions in their proposals:
- What are the problematics of using Western theories and philosophies to understand the relationship between non-Western musical actions and their contextual meanings and values?
- What are the possibilities and limitations of embracing pluralism in knowledge construction in music education through multicultural, intercultural, cross-cultural, transcultural, and syncretic lenses?
- How do we avoid theoretical and philosophical extractivism when interpreting musical actions from worldviews that are not our own to create more equitable representation?
- What are new questions and toolkits for understanding and theorizing the positionality of music educators and education inherent in pluralist contexts?
- Is there a particular non-Western philosophical lens that might transcend the issues we are dealing with in music education? How might it inform what we do in music education?
- Utilitarian, Aesthetic, and praxialist music education philosophies have shaped and guided music education practices in many countries. What might be the next historical turn in music education philosophy?
Submissions are due October 31, 2024. Prior to submission, please ensure that you have followed all ACT Submission Guidelines, including specific formatting guidelines for this journal.
Please submit your papers to aprest@uvic.ca and hvazquez@uvic.ca, copied to the ACT Editor Lauren Kapalka Richerme at lkricher@indiana.edu.
With thanks,
Dr. Anita Prest and Dr. Hector Vazquez-Cordoba
University of Victoria,
Victoria, Canada