As part of a two volume project on popular music and human rights, proposals are sought for the above volume. For the purposes of this volume, I define the concept of human rights intentionally broadly. Without attempting to pursue an agenda, it seems fair to say that at a time of such uncertainty and confusion, with human rights currently being violated all over the world, a new and sustained examination of cultural responses to such issues is warranted. It hardly requires qualifying that in this respect music, which of course is always produced in a social context, is an extremely useful medium.

The scope for contributions to this volume is considerable. Chapters may reflect but are not limited to situations in specific geographical areas, they may offer thematic approaches to the question of human rights, they might focus on appropriate artists, or they may complicate, challenge, criticize, or praise the definitions and usage of human rights in the context of popular music. In terms of a geographical focus alone, the extent of human rights violations is enlightening; a provisional lists suggests that available options here include at least the former Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, East Timor, Latin and South America, Australia, East Germany, the former Communist Bloc, The Caribbean, China, and Myanmar. Of equal importance might be some of the more notorious events of the last thirty or so years, many of which are defining human rights moments. A mere handful of what comes immediately to mind in this respect is the “Dirty War” in Argentina in the late 1970s, the Pinochet regime in Chile, the fall of the Berlin Wall, “ethnic cleansing,” genocide in Darfur and Rwanda, ongoing wars and conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, let alone other disputes, revolutions, coups and so on too numerous to mention individually.

This volume will contain twelve original essays, each of around twenty-five pages or so, all-inclusive, and each paper must have a post-1975 focus. I envisage essays able to speak to an academic audience as well as to the educated layperson, while in terms of a timeline I expect to submit the manuscript to the press by December 2008. For contributors this will mean that essays should be complete and submitted to me by around September 2008.

Please submit a 500 word abstract in the body of an email to Ian Peddie at ian.peddie@arts.usyd.edu.au. Please also include a CV. Deadlines for submission: October 15 2007.