The 9th Annual Punk Scholars Network UK Conference and Postgraduate Symposium will take place at Middlesex University, London on 2nd and 3rd December 2022. The theme this year is Punk & Resilience and we welcome proposals from punk scholars both in the UK and internationally. This will be our first opportunity to come together in person since the 2019 conference in Newcastle.
PSN France/PIND will be hosting their annual conference a week later in Paris, and PSN international branches have been invited to set up their own in person and/or online events across the same period.
Punk has always had an association with crisis, whether as a progressive response to social or economic problems or a dark, satirical expression of existential angst. For our ninth annual event, the Punk Scholars Network are seeking to hold a conference that explores the theme of resilience in relation to punk history, punk cultures, punk scenes and punk identities. Resilience can be understood in terms of strength, resistance, adaptability, endurance, flexibility and unshockability. In recent years many communities have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, which was quickly followed by widespread economic decline, conflict in Europe and a cost of living crisis. With this theme serving as a starting point, members of the Punk Scholars Network in the United Kingdom are holding a conference in London that critically engages with punk scholars from both the UK and the rest of the world.
In keeping with the Punk Scholars Network’s multidisciplinary academic approach, we are seeking contributions from a range of fields of study including, but not limited to: cultural studies, history, musicology, ethnography, art and design, humanities, performing arts and the social sciences. As ever, the PSN also welcomes proposals from independent scholars, artists, journalists, musicians, punk fans and scene participants working outside of formal academic institutions. Selected papers and panels could cover, but are not limited to, the following themes:
• The history of punk: origins, legacy, impact.
• Punk resistance, longevity and sustainability.
• Global punk scenes.
• Punk ethics and politics.
• Punk aesthetics, punk style.
• Punk and conflict, crisis or trauma.
• Ethnographic considerations of scene/space and borders.
• Music and the performer: creativity, authorship, identity, definition, musical boundaries.
• Reception: DIY culture, activism.
• The art of punk: record covers, concert flyers, fanzine design and associated graphic styles.
Please submit proposals for the PSN2022 Conference and Postgraduate Symposium at Middlesex University to info@punkscholarsnetwork.com. Deadline: Friday 16th September 2022, though we are happy to accept proposals earlier.
Proposals should be 350 words maximum (or equivalent, 3 minutes if a video clip for example).
This will be an in-person event, but we also welcome submissions from those who cannot travel to London and will endeavour to accommodate online presentations if required. Other international branches of the Punk Scholars Network will be organising their own events across the following week – please check the PSN website and blog for updates.
The Call For Papers can be downloaded here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3efwweycx2vrkjh/PSN2022%20CFP.pdf?dl=0
We look forward to seeing many of you there!