After my research stay in Basel, I was finally able to attend a conference in a physical location again (and not just online):  the XVII International Congress of the German Musicological Society (GfM), from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1, in Bonn, Germany.

It was great to see so many colleagues again after such a long time, to hear fascinating lectures, learn about exciting research projects, and participate in inspiring discussions. For my own part, I was invited to present a poster that gave a small insight into my just finished project about Benny Goodman.

The format for this was framed as “poster slam” and proved to be fruitful and interactive. The chair, Florian Hesch (University of Siegen), provided a welcoming atmosphere. Through short presentations and mutual comments, I got right into discussions with the other speakers. Apart from myself, Shin-Hyang Yun (University of Bonn) presented her research on singing practice of the Korean-German diaspora from an interreligious perspective. Also, representatives of a student working group on “Music and Intermediality” presented the activities and goals of their network.

Even though seemingly heterogeneous topics gathered under the title of our session, “Music History of the 20th and 21st Centuries,” various connections emerged, such as the importance of aspects like performance/embodiment, intermediality, or intersectionality. As always, the exchange with colleagues (and this time even directly and not through a screen) opened new perspectives on my own research topic and its relationality in such diverse contexts of our discipline and beyond.

(My conference attendance was supported by a travel grant by the Austrian Society for Research / Österreichische Forschungsgesellschaft.)

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