Why Pamper Lifeâ??s Complexities? - A Symposium on The Smiths
Manchester Institute of Popular Culture
Manchester Metropolitan University
April 8th and 9th 2005
The Smiths have had a singular impact on popular culture. They looked like nobody else and sounded like nobody else. The music of The Smiths contained an emotional depth and a technical virtuosity that moved people in a way that almost no other band has managed before or since. In spite of their enormous cultural significance and personal resonance, The Smiths have yet to receive sustained academic attention. To date, there have been remarkably few serious examinations of the band.
The purpose of this symposium is to put that right. The event seeks to draw together academics and others who wish to critically examine what The Smiths meant and continue to mean almost two decades after their untimely demise. Among the themes that we hope to address are: gender and sexuality, race and nationality, a sense of place, the imagination of class, the significance of Manchester in popular music, the aesthetics of the band, fan cultures and musical innovation.
Provisional Schedule
Friday 8 April
12.00-2.00: Registration
Tea and Coffee will be available.
2.00-3.00: Welcome and Opening Plenary
Introduction to the Conference: Fergus Campbell and Justin Oâ??Connor
Opening Speaker: Dave Haslam
3.00-4.30: Parallel Sessions
Session A: â??Manchester, so much to answer forâ??
Katie Milestone (Manchester Metropolitan University) â??The Smiths, Manchester and Identityâ??
Gian Pietro Leonardi (University of Rome) â??Refractory Poles: Manchester and London in The Smithsâ?? imageryâ??
Ellie-Varvara Stathaki (University College London) â??Architecture through Music: Experiencing and Expressing Manchesterâ??
Session B: â??England is Mineâ??: Place, Nation and Beyond
Sean Campbell (APU, Cambridge) â??â??Irish Blood, English Heartâ?: Nationality, Subjectivity and The Smithsâ??
Tara Brabazon (Murdoch University) â??There is a Light that Never Goes Outâ??
4.30-5.00: Tea and Coffee
5.00-6.00 Plenary Session.
John Harris: â??Sing Me to Sleep: The Smiths and the Demise of English Rockâ??
6.00-7.00 Wine Reception
8.00 - Smiths Disco at the Star and Garter
Saturday 9 April
10.00-11.30: Parallel Sessions
Session A:â??In the days when you were hopelessly poor, I just liked you moreâ??: Class, Politics and the Kitchen Sink
Colin Coulter (NUI Maynooth) â??A Double Bed and A Stalwart Lover For Sure: The Smiths, the Alchemy of Class and the End of Popâ??
Kari Kallioniemi (University of Turku) â??The Theatres of Memory or Radical Chic? The Smiths and Early 1960s British Kitchen-Sink Cinemaâ??
Paulo Oliveira (University of Aveiro, Portugal) â??The Smiths and Working Class Realist Aestheticsâ??
Session B: â??Will nature make a man of me yet?â??: Sex, Gender, Identity
Melinda Hsu (Meikai University, Japan) â??Posing as a â??Somdomiteâ? on Top of the Pops: The Smiths and Camp Performanceâ??
Cordelia Bradby (Goldsmiths College, London) â??Does the Body Rule the Mind or Does the Mind Rule the Body? I Dunnoâ??
Kieran Cashell (Limerick Institute of Technology) â??Donâ??t Try to Wake Me in the Morning â?¦ I Will Be Gone: Subjectivity, Suicide and The Smithsâ??
11.30-12.00: Tea and Coffee
12.00-1.00: Keynote Address.
Professor Sheila Whiteley (University of Salford)
â??This Charming Man: The Smiths, Morrissey and Sexual Dialogicsâ??
1.00-2.15: Break for Lunch
2.15-3.45: Parallel Sessions
Session A: â??Weâ??ve something theyâ??ll never haveâ?? Fandom, Reception and Memory
Karl Maton (University of Keele) â??Last Night They Dreamt That Somebody Loved Them: Fans of The Smiths during the late 1980sâ??
Renate Muller, Marc Calmbach and Stefanie Rhein (University of Ludwigsburg) â??What Difference Does It Make? The Empirical Aesthetics of The Smiths: How Do Young People Relate to The Smithsâ?? Aesthetics? An Experimental Audiovisual Surveyâ??
Felicity Cull (Murdoch University) â??Pity you didnâ??t sign The Smiths: The Smiths and Popular Memoryâ??
Session B: â??Keats and Yeats Are on Your Sideâ??: Visual and Literary Style
Michael Calderbank (MMU Cheshire) â??More to Life Than Books? Dialectics of Aestheticism and Naturalism: The Literary Sensibility of The Smithsâ??
Cecilia Mello (University of London) â??I Donâ??t Owe You a Thing: The Smiths and the British New Waveâ??
Gavin Hopps (University of Oxford) â??Morrissey and the Light That Never Goes Outâ??
3.45-4.15 Tea and Coffee
4.15-5.45: Parallel Sessions
Session A: â??The Songs That Saved Your Lifeâ??: Words, Music, Sleeves
Jonathan Hiam (University of North Carolina) â??This Way and That Way: The Poetics of The Smithsâ?? â??Stretch Out and Waitâ?â??
Tonje Hakensen (Oslo University) â??â??I Didnâ??t Realize You Wrote Such Bloody Awful Poetryâ?: The Performance of Words and Music in â??The Boy with the Thorn in His Sideâ?â??
Ellen Gorman (George Mason University, Virginia) â??Hand in Glove: The Politics of Gender and Aesthetics in The Smithsâ?? Sleevesâ??
Session B: â??The Only Ones Who Ever Stood By You?â?? Fandom, Reception, Industry
Amanda Graham (University of Oxford) â??The Music of The Smiths as Inside Jokeâ??
Lisa Garrett (Roger Davies Artist Management) â??I Stole and Lied Because You Asked Me Toâ??: Considering the Transparency of the Smithsâ?? Business Practice in Relation to Their Creativityâ??
5.45-6.00: Short Tea Break
6.00-7.00: Plenary Session
Simon Goddard: â??Stop Me If You Think Youâ??ve Heard This One Before: Behind the Music of The Smithsâ??
9.00: The Smyths (Smiths tribute band), Dry Bar, Oldham Street.
Sunday 10 April
11.00 Stephen Wright Photographs at Salford Ladsâ?? Club
1.00 Tour of Manchester by Phill Gatenby â?? Departs from Manchester Metropolitan University
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news_item.php?id=251
Manchester Institute of Popular Culture
Manchester Metropolitan University
April 8th and 9th 2005
The Smiths have had a singular impact on popular culture. They looked like nobody else and sounded like nobody else. The music of The Smiths contained an emotional depth and a technical virtuosity that moved people in a way that almost no other band has managed before or since. In spite of their enormous cultural significance and personal resonance, The Smiths have yet to receive sustained academic attention. To date, there have been remarkably few serious examinations of the band.
The purpose of this symposium is to put that right. The event seeks to draw together academics and others who wish to critically examine what The Smiths meant and continue to mean almost two decades after their untimely demise. Among the themes that we hope to address are: gender and sexuality, race and nationality, a sense of place, the imagination of class, the significance of Manchester in popular music, the aesthetics of the band, fan cultures and musical innovation.
Provisional Schedule
Friday 8 April
12.00-2.00: Registration
Tea and Coffee will be available.
2.00-3.00: Welcome and Opening Plenary
Introduction to the Conference: Fergus Campbell and Justin Oâ??Connor
Opening Speaker: Dave Haslam
3.00-4.30: Parallel Sessions
Session A: â??Manchester, so much to answer forâ??
Katie Milestone (Manchester Metropolitan University) â??The Smiths, Manchester and Identityâ??
Gian Pietro Leonardi (University of Rome) â??Refractory Poles: Manchester and London in The Smithsâ?? imageryâ??
Ellie-Varvara Stathaki (University College London) â??Architecture through Music: Experiencing and Expressing Manchesterâ??
Session B: â??England is Mineâ??: Place, Nation and Beyond
Sean Campbell (APU, Cambridge) â??â??Irish Blood, English Heartâ?: Nationality, Subjectivity and The Smithsâ??
Tara Brabazon (Murdoch University) â??There is a Light that Never Goes Outâ??
4.30-5.00: Tea and Coffee
5.00-6.00 Plenary Session.
John Harris: â??Sing Me to Sleep: The Smiths and the Demise of English Rockâ??
6.00-7.00 Wine Reception
8.00 - Smiths Disco at the Star and Garter
Saturday 9 April
10.00-11.30: Parallel Sessions
Session A:â??In the days when you were hopelessly poor, I just liked you moreâ??: Class, Politics and the Kitchen Sink
Colin Coulter (NUI Maynooth) â??A Double Bed and A Stalwart Lover For Sure: The Smiths, the Alchemy of Class and the End of Popâ??
Kari Kallioniemi (University of Turku) â??The Theatres of Memory or Radical Chic? The Smiths and Early 1960s British Kitchen-Sink Cinemaâ??
Paulo Oliveira (University of Aveiro, Portugal) â??The Smiths and Working Class Realist Aestheticsâ??
Session B: â??Will nature make a man of me yet?â??: Sex, Gender, Identity
Melinda Hsu (Meikai University, Japan) â??Posing as a â??Somdomiteâ? on Top of the Pops: The Smiths and Camp Performanceâ??
Cordelia Bradby (Goldsmiths College, London) â??Does the Body Rule the Mind or Does the Mind Rule the Body? I Dunnoâ??
Kieran Cashell (Limerick Institute of Technology) â??Donâ??t Try to Wake Me in the Morning â?¦ I Will Be Gone: Subjectivity, Suicide and The Smithsâ??
11.30-12.00: Tea and Coffee
12.00-1.00: Keynote Address.
Professor Sheila Whiteley (University of Salford)
â??This Charming Man: The Smiths, Morrissey and Sexual Dialogicsâ??
1.00-2.15: Break for Lunch
2.15-3.45: Parallel Sessions
Session A: â??Weâ??ve something theyâ??ll never haveâ?? Fandom, Reception and Memory
Karl Maton (University of Keele) â??Last Night They Dreamt That Somebody Loved Them: Fans of The Smiths during the late 1980sâ??
Renate Muller, Marc Calmbach and Stefanie Rhein (University of Ludwigsburg) â??What Difference Does It Make? The Empirical Aesthetics of The Smiths: How Do Young People Relate to The Smithsâ?? Aesthetics? An Experimental Audiovisual Surveyâ??
Felicity Cull (Murdoch University) â??Pity you didnâ??t sign The Smiths: The Smiths and Popular Memoryâ??
Session B: â??Keats and Yeats Are on Your Sideâ??: Visual and Literary Style
Michael Calderbank (MMU Cheshire) â??More to Life Than Books? Dialectics of Aestheticism and Naturalism: The Literary Sensibility of The Smithsâ??
Cecilia Mello (University of London) â??I Donâ??t Owe You a Thing: The Smiths and the British New Waveâ??
Gavin Hopps (University of Oxford) â??Morrissey and the Light That Never Goes Outâ??
3.45-4.15 Tea and Coffee
4.15-5.45: Parallel Sessions
Session A: â??The Songs That Saved Your Lifeâ??: Words, Music, Sleeves
Jonathan Hiam (University of North Carolina) â??This Way and That Way: The Poetics of The Smithsâ?? â??Stretch Out and Waitâ?â??
Tonje Hakensen (Oslo University) â??â??I Didnâ??t Realize You Wrote Such Bloody Awful Poetryâ?: The Performance of Words and Music in â??The Boy with the Thorn in His Sideâ?â??
Ellen Gorman (George Mason University, Virginia) â??Hand in Glove: The Politics of Gender and Aesthetics in The Smithsâ?? Sleevesâ??
Session B: â??The Only Ones Who Ever Stood By You?â?? Fandom, Reception, Industry
Amanda Graham (University of Oxford) â??The Music of The Smiths as Inside Jokeâ??
Lisa Garrett (Roger Davies Artist Management) â??I Stole and Lied Because You Asked Me Toâ??: Considering the Transparency of the Smithsâ?? Business Practice in Relation to Their Creativityâ??
5.45-6.00: Short Tea Break
6.00-7.00: Plenary Session
Simon Goddard: â??Stop Me If You Think Youâ??ve Heard This One Before: Behind the Music of The Smithsâ??
9.00: The Smyths (Smiths tribute band), Dry Bar, Oldham Street.
Sunday 10 April
11.00 Stephen Wright Photographs at Salford Ladsâ?? Club
1.00 Tour of Manchester by Phill Gatenby â?? Departs from Manchester Metropolitan University
http://www.mmu.ac.uk/news/news_item.php?id=251
