SEM Disability and Deaf Studies 

Following the announcement that the 2020 Society for Ethnomusicology meeting would be held on-line, the Disability and Deaf Studies SIG leadership committee submitted the following message to SEM leadership.

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With the change of conference format from physical to virtual, the Disability and Deaf Studies SIG would like to offer the following considerations in order to ensure that all members are provided with equal access. Online conferences and virtual streaming platforms offer an opportunity for greater inclusion, yet if they are structured in a way that caters to a certain group of bodies or abilities over others, they can be just as exclusive. As the Society begins to make conference arrangements, we would like to provide some suggestions for additional measures that may be taken. These suggestions will assist the conference organizers in avoiding any kind of structural disadvantage and will ensure that the conference setting is inclusive to all members.

In addition to implementing the "Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Meeting Accessibility Information and Guidelines for Presenters," please ensure that:

1. The conference organizing committees are in contact with our Access Coordinators Katelyn Best and Fugan Dineen going forward to ensure disability perspectives and voices are being included throughout the planning process.

2. The conference registration form will include detailed information about the conference streaming platform and be accessible on the Conference Homepage.

3. The conference registration form will include a space for registrants to submit accessibility requests and the Conference Homepage will provide a form or contact for subsequent accessibility concerns.

4. Sign Language Interpretation and/or a real-time captioning/transcription service is provided.

5. The streaming platform is compatible for screen readers.

6. Pre-recorded video is captioned.

7. Substantial breaks (at least 30 minutes long) will be scheduled between sessions encouraging conference attendees to move away from their computer.

8. The presenter’s face is well lit and can be clearly seen.

9. Speakers use headsets (if they have one).

10. Flashing lights or movements in slide presentations are avoided or shown with an advanced warning.

11. A telephone-based audio/listening connection will be provided.

12. Participants will have the option to switch off their cameras.

Thank you for your dedication and support in providing an inclusive and accessible society. If you have any questions or need further assistance please do not hesitate to contact our Access Coordinator and Co-Chair: Katelyn Best (katelynebest@gmail.com) and Fugan Dineen (fugan.dineen@gmail.com).

Sincerely,

Samantha Jones and Ailsa Lipscombe

Co-Chairs, Disability and Deaf Studies Special Interest Group

The SEM Disability and Deaf Studies SIG is pleased to announce that we will be co-sponsoring a panel for the 2020 Society for Ethnomusicology Annual (Virtual) Meeting with the Sound Studies SIG:

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Sounding (Un)Well: Kripping Discources of Sound, Space, and Music

Chair: DJ Hatfield

Discussant: Felicia Youngblood

Presenters: 

Alexandria Carrico, "Kripping the Soundscape: Reimagining Traditional Irish Music Sessions through Neurodiverse Aurality"

Ailsa Lipscombe, "When Silence is Heard: Embodied Listening in Medical Facilities' Competing Sonic Epistemes"

Anabel Maler, "The Signing Voice"

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This panel explores the multiple resonances between the fields of sound studies and disability and d/Deaf studies. Each panelist challenges ideal and normative ways of sounding or of listening with the goal of understanding what it means to sound or resound in space. Further, panelists interrogate the value of sound and aesthetics in sonic and interpersonal relations, considering how meanings are formed by, attributed to, and interpreted within moments of sonic and musical interaction. The first presentation on the panel examines how non-normative musical performance by neurodivergent musicians within traditional Irish music sessions simultaneously challenged tropes equating talent with humanity while creating a neurodivergent soundscape that encouraged new ways of listening to and understanding disability. The second paper explores how relationships between sound and silence in medical facilities map onto discourses of healing and hurting, tuning into the dynamic practices of embodied listening practiced by patients and practitioners that challenge normate narratives of sonic meaning. The final paper on the panel challenges the material turn in voice studies--which has defined the voice as the bodily practice of air vibrating through vocal cords--by theorizing the signing voice as a singing voice, conceptualizing the body’s movements through space as musical utterances. Drawing on Jennifer Stoever-Ackerman’s assertion that “sound is not merely a scientific phenomenon...it is also a set of social relations,” this panel explores how instances of disabled and d/Deaf socialities extend our understanding of what it means to (re)sound well.

The SEM Disability and Deaf Studies SIG is pleased to announce that we will be sponsoring a panel at the upcoming Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference in Bloomington, Indiana.

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Bridging the Divide: Uniting Subdisciplines at the Intersections of Disability, Deaf Studies, and Medical Ethnomusicology 5B 

Friday, November 8 - 8:30-10:30AM; Walnut Room

Chair: Felicia Youngblood, Western Washington University 8:30 

Ross Brillhart, Indiana University Bloomington 

Emily Williams, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 

James Deaville, Carleton University 

Theresa Allison, University of California, San Francisco 

Jennie Gubner, University of California, San Francisco

Description

In order to conduct socially responsible research and cultivate relationships of reciprocity, we must also endeavor to form collaborative partnerships among subdisciplines within ethnomusicology. Our roundtable draws upon various interdisciplinary projects that address larger social issues around questions of health, wellness, Deafness, and disability. Using expertise from the areas of holistic healing practices, film studies, music pedagogy, and health sciences, the discussants analyze how we can leverage interdisciplinarity in order to to address bigger questions, systems, and structures. Our first panelist presents a theoretical infrastructure and methodology based on experience in substance abuse recovery communities, outlining the importance of moving beyond paradigms of healing as a form of correction to nonnormative ways of being. Our second presenter addresses the deficiencies of accommodations in the music classroom past elementary age and demonstrates how instrumental prosthetics expand musical and social access to encompass diverse learners. Utilizing a theoretical perspective from film studies, our third participant outlines the necessity of supporting people with intersectional identities by examining social systems connected to Deafness, mental health, and race. Our final discussants address music in dementia caregiving relationships through the lens of an interprofessional research team including ethnomusicologists, physicians, and health scientists. The presenters discuss how disability studies frameworks and ethnomusicological methods offer important perspectives to health sciences research. Ultimately, our roundtable outlines better pathways of access and support, demonstrating how interdisciplinary partnerships can lead to better care and social change.

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Related Panel

4H Thursday 4:00 – 5:30pm Georgian (Video Streaming Room) Disabilities and Deaf Culture 

Chair: Andrew C. Shahriari, Kent State University 

4:00 Silence is Golden: Relationship Dynamics in Ethnomusicology and Autism Andrew C. Shahriari, Kent State University 

4:30 Narratives of Presence and Absence: Representations of Gender within Deaf Hip Hop Katelyn Best, The Johannes Gutenberg University 

5:00 Braille Music and Spoken Scores: Inscribing Musical Abilities for Blind Musicians Floris Schuiling, Utrecht University

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