Fourth Symposium of the
ICTMD Study Group on Sound, Movement, and the Sciences (SoMoS)

23-26 September 2026
Instituto de Etnomusicologia – Centro de Estudos em Música e Dança (INET-md)

at The NOVA University of Lisbon – School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH)

Call for Papers

Symposium themes:

The ICTMD Study Group on Sound, Movement and the Sciences (SoMoS) aims to bring together scholars whose work combines approaches from ethnomusicology and/or ethnochoreology with those from the sciences – to explore sound and movement in music and dance contexts. Here, the sciences are broadly defined, including but not limited to disciplines such as cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, computer science, statistics, mathematics, biology, physics, and medical science.

We propose that ethnographic/anthropological and science-based approaches can complement each other, producing insights that might be difficult to achieve otherwise. For our fourth official symposium, we welcome proposals on any topic that aligns with the aims and themes of the study group, insofar as they combine ethnographic/anthropological and science-based approaches, explore issues involved in such endeavors, or present reflective discussions on relevant theories and methodologies.

Abstract submission:

Abstracts should not exceed 2,000 characters including spaces (approximately 300 words).

Please submit abstracts, along with a title and the name(s) and affiliation(s) of author(s) through this portal:
https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/80622/submitter.

Guidelines for abstracts: To have the best chance of being accepted, the abstract should include the following:

• Details of the a) ethnographic or anthropological, and b) science-based or systematic elements present in the research. Papers should include both in order to be considered suitable for presentation at this symposium, as this combination of approaches is the defining feature of the study group.
• The research question or main argument
• The methodologies used
• The results and/or conclusions of the study/paper

Presentation modes and formats:

The symposium will be hybrid, with possible mixed sessions (some papers delivered online and others with author(s) present in Lisbon). Those presenting remotely will be asked to send a pre-recorded video and to participate in an online Q&A session after the video has been played.

In the submission, there will be opportunity to specify your intended presentation mode (on site or remote), if currently known.

Upon submission, you will also be asked to choose from the following formats:

• Individual paper (20 minutes plus 10 minutes for questions)
• Panel of three or four papers (30 minutes x number of speakers, either 90 or 120 minutes in total; please submit abstracts for all of the papers as part of a single online submission for the panel)

Submission deadline:

The deadline for submission of abstracts is:
Friday 27 February 2026

Membership and symposium registration:

Membership of SoMoS is not required to participate in this symposium. However, participants must be ICTMD members in good standing at the time of completing symposium registration.

Contact:

Please contact Filippo Bonini Baraldi (fbaraldi@fcsh.unl.pt) for any questions regarding practical matters in Lisbon, or Samuel Horlor (s.p.horlor@durham.ac.uk) for any questions related to the program.

If you have questions concerning the SoMoS Study Group or ICTMD membership, please contact any member of the SoMoS Executive Committee:

SoMoS Executive Committee:

Chair: Kendra Stepputat (kendra-iris.stepputat@kug.ac.at)
Vice-Chair: Lara Pearson (lpearson@uni-koeln.de)
Secretary: Rafael Caro Repetto (Rafael.Caro@uab.cat)

Symposium Local Organising Committee:

Chair: Filippo Bonini Baraldi
Alcina Maria de Oliveira Cortez Mota
Leon Tolentino Bucaretchi
Manuel Diniz Silva
Maria Espírito Santo
Vincent Debut

Symposium Program Committee:

Chair: Samuel Horlor
Anastasiia Mazurenko
Juliano Abramovay
Sayumi Kamata