Jewish Music Web Center Announcements

Call for papers

The Eurovision Song Contest: Popular Music, Media, and Politics With the 50th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest approaching, we invite submissions for a collection of essays dealing with this popular culture phenomenon from a wide range of historical, sociological, and theoretical perspectives...

Founded in 1956 as an annual televised event unifying Europe through music, Eurovision is widely celebrated by its fans and just as widely disparaged by its critics. The event is replete with contradictions and border-crossings of all kinds. A French minister of culture called it "a monument to drivel," while one contestant later became the Norwegian minister of culture. Voting patterns reveal deep-seated alliances and animosities (Turkey often votes for Germany's song, but never for Greece), while recent wins by Estonia and Latvia demonstrate the arrival of "new Europe." In 1979, Eurovision was held for the first time outside of Europe, in Jerusalem; twenty years later an Israeli transsexual's victory crossed the borders of gender identity as well. Significantly perhaps, Eurovision is one of Europe's largest and longest-running media productions that has never been broadcast in the United States. Specific historical, sociological, and theoretical perspectives might address the following: - How are changing aspects of "Europe" reflected in the Eurovision Song Contest since its founding in the post-war decade, or since Europe's post-Wall expansion? - Case studies on participating countries, performers, songs, musical styles, language choice, cultural references, voting results, critical reception - The notion of border-crossing: political, musical, linguistic, aesthetic, or otherwise - Theoretical approaches to media spectacle, popular music, nationality, performativity - Technologies of fan culture: television broadcasting, telephone voting, record collecting, Internet websites - Europop aesthetics: kitsch or camp, humor and parody, tribute bands - Comparable institutions: The San Remo Song Festival (founded in 1951), Intervision (the former East Bloc answer to Eurovision), World Pop Idol, etc. Please reply to both Ivan Raykoff (raykoffi@newschool.edu) and Robert Tobin (tobin@whitman.edu). Ivan Raykoff Prof. of Arts in Context (Music) Eugene Lang College/New School University 65 West 11th St. New York, NY 10011 Robert Tobin Prof. of Foreign Languages and Literature (German) Whitman College Walla Walla, WA 99362