Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) Conference
We are delighted to invite you to join us at the 17th Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) Conference which will take place at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick on 30 Sep - 2 Oct, 2025.
CDIME 2025
CDIME 2025 Theme: Living Diversity, Imagining Inclusivity: Practicing (Non-)belongings in Music Education
The Cultural Diversity in Music Education (CDIME) conference has provided a platform for the exchange of practices and research related to cultural diversity in music education since 1992. In 2025 the 17th CDIME Conference will be an in-person event and will be held in Limerick, Ireland. The conference is co-hosted by Mary Immaculate College and the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick.
- Conference Location: Mary Immaculate College, Limerick & Irish World Academy of Music and Dance, University of Limerick
- When: Tuesday 30 September - Thursday 2 October, 2025
Conference registration will open in March 2025.
Call for Proposals
The CDIME 2025 Conference invites presenters to reflect on Living Diversity, Imagining Inclusivity: Practicing (Non-)belongings in Music Education. The conference will explore the multifaceted, everyday experiences and expressions of diversity, and the factors that determine its plurality in terms of cultures/cultural repertories, i.e. race, class, religion, (dis)ability, gender, among others. Furthermore, the conference aims to interrogate the imaginaries of inclusivity orientating goals and gain insights into the practices such goals inspire. We consider (non-)belonging in music education settings and their entanglements with practices shaping the matrix upon which the imaginaries of inclusivity and experiences of everyday diversity dialogue.
Indicative themes (non-exhaustive):
- Experiences of everyday diversity across music education contexts: how does music learning and teaching shape and is shaped by everyday experiences in a diverse world? How do senses and practices of (non-)belonging affect music education practices in formal, informal and non-formal contexts?
- Imaginaries and enactments of inclusivity in music education settings: how do we imagine inclusivity and enact it? What do enactments of inclusivity reveal about our understandings of it? How are imaginaries and enactments of inclusivity underpinned by practices of (non-)belonging?
- Practices of (non-)belonging in music education settings: how does music learning and teaching foster a sense of (non-)belonging? What are the intersections with everyday experiences of diversity in and outside the music classroom?
- Policies and systems that relate to diversity and inclusivity in music education: What policies and structures enable or inhibit (non-)belonging and inclusivity? How do cultural diversity discourses and imaginings interact with legacies of coloniality, decoloniality, or postcoloniality?
We invite proposals, panels, or arts practice presentations that consider the conference themes and questions posed. The conference welcomes from a wide range of academic disciplines and community collaborators, with intersections between music education and other disciplines such as ethnomusicology, community music, musicology, music therapy and performance studies, as well as broader transdisciplinary perspectives drawing on disciplines such as philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, politics, or geography.
Submission Guidelines
Proposals should be submitted via the conference Call for Proposals online form (see link below) before 16 December, 2024. Proposals should be no longer than 250 words (700 words for panels) and should include bibliographic references that are not counted in the word limit. Proposals for musical/creative performances do not need references but may be accompanied by a link to recordings of work similar to the proposal.
- Paper presentations should be 20 minutes in duration with 10 minutes for discussion.
- Panels should be 70 minutes in duration (5 minute introduction, 3 x 15 minute paper presentations, a 5 minute conclusion and 15 minutes for discussion).
- Musical/creative presentations may be up to 20 minutes in duration.
Proposals will be blind reviewed by two reviewers on the basis of quality, originality, critical engagement and relevance to the conference theme. Participants may have the option of submitting a full paper for consideration to be part of a publication.
Abstract decision notification: end of February 2025
