Conference on Ethnomusicology
Conference coordinatedby Francesco Giannattasio and Giovanni Giuriati.
Ethnomusicology courses have become increasingly popular over the last decades in Italian universities and courses are now also being offered in the reformed national music schools (conservatori). All Italian university ethnomusicology lecturers and a selection of music school teachers who tackle the subject have been invited to the conference, which sets out to address a series of issues currently at the heart of the debate on teaching strategies:
1) The wide-ranging and increasing number of ethnomusicology courses in Italian universities and music schools as well as the growing importance of intercultural perspectives in basic music education. These developments make the increasingly widely shared issue of how to teach the discipline (and what to teach) of pressing importance at the various levels of music education.
2) The deep changes to the subject of study and to the cultural contexts in which ethnomusicologists traditionally conduct their studies forces us to reconsider teaching methods and aims, as well as the materials and teaching aids.
3) Ongoing changes to the institutional set-up in universities, specialised music schools and even in foundation courses obliges us to reflect on the role of the discipline in curricula at all levels.
4) Equally important is question of the "job opportunities", which leads us to think how prospects in the teaching field should be pursued as well as about possible opportunities for cultural mediation.
The two-day conference is open to the general public but because of its specific nature as a meeting between experts it is mainly intended as an internal think tank. A number of talks will be given by ethnomusicology lecturers at the conference which will also be attended by institutional representatives from the Consiglio Universitario Nazionale (National University Council) and the Associazione dei Docenti Universitari Italiani di Musicologia (ADUIM – Association of Italian University Musicology Lecturers). During proceedings, two publications will be presented: an initial census of ethnomusicology courses in Italy (Primo censimento degli insegnamenti di etnomusicologia in Italia) and a book, Fare etnomusicologia oggi by Claudio Rizzoni, which contains interviews with many Italian ethnomusicology experts on some of the themes that will also be addressed at the conference.
Intercultural Institute of Comparative Music Studies
Secretary’s office:
tel. +39 041 2710357 +39 041 5230555
e-mail musica.comparata@cini.it
