In an interview titled “L’Histoire s’écrit aussi en chanson” hip hop artist Rocé describes his project Par les damné-e-s de la Terre (2018) dedicated to forgotten French songs of resistance and influenced by the work of Frantz Fanon. Inspired by the idea that history can also be written through songs, the international conference “Songs That Rewrite History” seeks to explore the different ways in which songs (re)write history within the context of Romance languages.

There have already been numerous attempts to tell the story of songs or to present historical periods through the analysis of songs. Here, we are more concerned with musical products that re-contextualize historical events, challenge and sometimes transform narratives, as well as with songs that actively contribute to the unfolding of events that are historically relevant.

The call is open for literary, cultural and musicological analyses. Proposals should take into consideration both the lyrics and the sonic components. The aim is to highlight the role of songs that impact historical narratives and/or on historical dynamics. Therefore, investigations resorting tohistoriographic perspectives such as micro-histories as well as approaches that focus on cultural studies are welcome.

From the point of view of re-writing history, cultural, political, and social claims can be at the center of statements made through the sonic and textual weapons of a song. Often, the development of alternative perspectives is the very basis of recontextualization. . At the same time, the process of rewriting history can also be perceived as problematic, when revisionism and extremism are expressed in songs, a phenomenon that the use of popular music on social media only exacerbates.

In the aforementioned interview, rapper Rocé addresses the “hierachization of culture” to describe how national systems of education tend to standardize history and to cancel trajectories of individuals and communities that do not belong to the main narrative. In line with this idea, the conference invites research that examines the ways in which media – such as records, radio, cassettes, CDs, smartphones – contribute to the dissemination of alternative narratives through songs.

The conference does not wish to limit itself to certain musical genres or styles, as the focus is more on the potential and impact of popular music products. Similarly, proposals that look into popular music in Romance languages outside Europe are welcome.

The main topic of the conference will be explored within four different areas that should be considered as a general orientation not covering the full span of options:

- New contextualizations of historical events

Songs that reveal new aspects of certain historical facts or change narratives, that challenge the dominant reconstruction of events or even become the main historical narrative.

- Songs that provincialize the center

This section explores songs that recontextualize historical events while considering issues of decolonial processes, postcolonial approaches, ethnicity, race, and marginalized perspectives.

- Songs that have an impact on society and affect historical dynamics

Propaganda, war, revolutions, civil campaigns and religious transformations feature or use songs as a vehicle to, among other things, foster participation, build identities, attack enemies, etc. Here, the focus is on songs that contribute to the unfolding of historical events.

- Songs and Politics

Although the relationship between music and politics has been extensively analyzed, this call for papers wishes to focus on songs that become an integral part of politically relevant events. Similarly, one can look at songs that rewrite the political history of a specific community. as well as at songs that focus on regional, national and transnational levels.

“Songs That Rewrite History”, a multilingual conference to explore the ways in which songs have affected historical events and transformed narratives, will take place in Innsbruck, on December 3 to 5, 2026, and will have a hybrid format. Some of the speakers have been directly invited and other speakers will be selected through this call for papers.

Proposals (an abstract of about 250-300 words and a short biographical note of about 100 words) should be sent to Birgit Mertz-Baumgartner (Birgit.Mertz-Baumgartner@uibk.ac.at) and/or to Gianpaolo Chiriacò (giovanni.chiriaco@uibk.ac.at).

The following languages are accepted: Spanish, French, Italian, English.
The deadline for proposals is April 15, 2026. Acceptance emails will be sent around May 10, 2026.