Event overview
“Marxist music studies in the neoliberal academy”
Tension between social justice narratives that emphasise the politics of difference and Marxist economic analysis has become especially heightened in the neoliberal era (Shahrzad Mojab 2015, Jodi Melamed 2011). In humanities scholarship, this is evident in debates that pit Foucauldian discourse analysis against Marxist materialism, or individual subjectivity against social structures. In music studies, this tension comes to the fore in literature that contends that the discipline’s dominant focus on the politics of difference signals complicity with neoliberalism (James Currie 2009, 2012; J. P. E. Harper-Scott 2012, 2020; David Blake 2017). Following a theoretical thread that links the politics of difference to postmodernism and in turn to neoliberalism, Currie characterises the question of identity and difference that consumed the new musicology of the 1990s—and continues to do so today—as ‘a politically flavored distraction that potentially enabled politics in its proper transformative sense not to happen’ (2012, xiii). McCarthy argues that while Currie and Harper-Scott have produced valuable work, their critique of the politics of difference and failure to challenge the social hegemony of whiteness and maleness constitutes a regressive step for Marxist music studies. Developing on this work while critiquing some of its claims, then, her paper challenges the notion of ‘transformative’ political work by exploring the relationships between structure and subjectivity, materialism and discourse, in current music studies. She do this through brief excursions into two case studies.
Music Research Lectures are free and all are welcome.
The Music Research Series invites researchers from across the country, and from within the department, to present and discuss their work.
The Series is a space for the development of cutting-edge research in music, and for the training of postgraduate and Early Career Researchers from Goldsmiths and elsewhere.
The sessions bring together scholars, practitioners, and people working in music outside the university. They may include formal papers, panel discussions, conversations, or any other format that suits the research.
Undergraduates, researchers and visitors from across the college and the community are also most welcome to these public lectures.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Nov 2021 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
