Singing the Past Singing the Past

This international conference intends to investigate how songs can constitute means to narrate historical events as well as social and political figures. This symposium intends to explore “unofficial” narratives that are clearly distinct from or opposing to political authority. This will allow us to investigate various relations to the past and how those may be performed, often through personal narratives constructing alternative histories. Another central issue is the content of the songs. In other words, what in the songs’ material conveys historical and political meaning? Nevertheless, it should not be studied apart from the music which conveys its social meaning. The choice of musical instruments, forms and aesthetics as well as musical borrowings or quotations highlights symbols that are superposed to and intertwined with textual content in a complex semiotic structure that needs to be unpacked