2013 Minutes

PMSSEM Business Meeting 11/15/13

JM welcome everyone, announces Elijah’s talk, info about Lise Waxer prize form by the door – needs to be submitted to JM by the end of the night,
Passing out sign-in to get names for committees and email addresses for the email list

Adopted a system to take a moment for the people who have passed who contributed to PMS scholarship this past year.

Taking a moment of silence.

Minutes are online – if no one objects by 12/1 the minutes are accepted

1. Prize names – naming keynote lecture: Kathryn Gordon Thompson and JM decided to call it the DS lecture in popular music – is this approved, do people want discussion, or is there a motion.
   1. The motion was moved to discuss, seconded, and the motion was passed by total acclaim.
2. The other issue is the student prize, Lise Waxer, Maxim went with the Lise Waxer PMSSEM Prize.
   1. Move to accept, seconded. Open for discussion (none). All in favor by acclaim.
3. Trevor Harvey as website czar – posts all appropriate items to website. Went to the SEM website committee meeting today.
   1. Website for section hosted by wikidot
   2. SEM’s website was overhauled, using a backend to website to organize administrators over sections of group pages, and has opened up the possibility for PMS to be hosted on the SEM site rather than going outside.
      1. Student Union has a site up
      2. It gives us the same possibilities we have now but hosted on the SEM website. One difference is that anyone can register on wikidot and take part in adding content, while if it moves to ethnomusicology.org people have to be a paying membership. Contact Trevor with questions or interest in the process.
      3. On current site unless we move we want as many members as possible on the site; membership directory on the site.
      4. SEM does not populate our site with PMS members immediately but can populate with current members. If anyone is lapsed they can see content but not change it.
      5. JM asks if people have strong feelings
      6. David – if we don’t have strong feelings, but it would be easier for people to find us on the SEM site.
      7. On the static page there is a link to our site already but we just are not hosted in the site. The user experience would not change much.
      8. Meg (Margaret) Jackson is this in development – Trevor suggests we might hold back since this is not yet developed. SU site is preliminary but are just a test site.
      9. Wikidot is more flexible in terms of access.
      10. MK asks how many of our current members are current members of our section.
      11. We have 600-700 people on listserv, but only about 200 people pay dues into the section (JM) – if we move to the website, asking people to add that extra money on top of their regular membership.
      12. (TH) The most active part of current website is the current bibliographies (JM – we’d like it to be more active).
      13. What about the option of both? The bibliography on the wiki but a shell on the main website.
          1. JM – we don’t want to go back to maintaining two websites
          2. So if there’s a presence on SEM, and there’s a link to the more manageable site, if it isn’t broke don’t fix it.
          3. JM – tempted to leave things as they are. Would people be comfortable keeping things as they are? If we go this route, we need to use it – add syllabi (a separate link), add sources – are people agreeable to keeping the wikidot site as our main site and just watch to see what happens.
          4. Aye for keeping things as they are.
4. Status of Popular Music Scholars – Dennis Rathnaw, Paul Greene, Kathryn Metz (didn’t hear about anything with this yet), and Kathryn Meizel – that subcommittee was formed about concerns with the position of jobs for popular music scholars in terms of how they are trained, and the lack of tenured women. Did send emails to encourage the committee to be more active.
5. The Student Research Grants committee (Jeremy Wallach, Esther Clinton, Paul Greene, Kathryn Meizel) – not much got done, but Jeremy is at another meeting at this time but will be coming later. Esther gave that update. JM – the point of the committee is to look for other ways to promote scholarship of popular music – a student research prize to support fieldwork. (Esther) talked about an opportunity also for undergrads, not just grads. JM – question is about funding these projects. $4000 in budget - funding the speaker for the full conference but we need to be thinking about how we’ll pay this prize.
   1. Plug – pay dues - $10 or $5 – to support young researchers.
6. By laws for elections: long time members know Harry was president for 10 years, Paul Greene stepped in, then Jeremy, then Jen came in last year. What has come up is we don’t have bylaws on how this should work and whether there should be formal elections. Gordon Thompson suggested what we need to do is form a committee to write bylaws.
   1. One of the first sections to have a prize, we’ve been innovative in our events, and by laws. JM willing to stay on another year while this is established.
   2. Are people agreeable to forming a committee to establish bylaws? So moved, seconded. Agreed.
   3. We’ll talk about membership later.
7. 2014 conference ideas
   1. 2013 we sponsored a lot of panels. We have a strong presence with panels. We got rid of person who promotes panels. JM sends out a list with reminder, asks folks to email requests for sponsorships. This is working.
   2. Theme for next year? Unknown yet. Suggestions for panels?
      1. JM has idea from SSW meeting where they were discussing fewer papers on feminist scholarship; there have been excellent papers on feminist approaches to popular music. It might be time to combine with gender and sexuality in popular music
      2. British Invasion – 50th anniversary of 1964 – speaker from the UK?
      3. Keep in mind at the general business meeting it would be nice to hook up with them. We need to remain vigilant of the status of PM scholarship and keep it’s position as a legitimate scope of study?
   3. Keynote lecture for next year? Someone to speak about 50th anniversary? Other ideas for keynote lectures? Public scholars? Greg Tate (Kathryn, then Esther seconded)
   4. Mark Lewisohn (nominated?)
8. Announcement of prizes: two priazes – from dues
   1. Lise Waxer Student Paper Prize: Joshua asked JM to read. (get Joshua’s notes), Joshua Dushan, Meryl Krieger, Andrew Mall.
   2. Jonathan presenting next – the Richard Waterman prize (get Jonathan notes)
9. JM thanks everyone for serving on committees
   1. Current winners should be encouraged (required) to serve on the committee for the coming year. We have moved the Waxer prize to an electronic submission process this year, and so will the Richard Waterman prize.
      1. Joshua Duchan, Meryl Krieger, Meredith Schweig as the winner joining the Lise Waxer PMS committee
   2. Junior scholars are within seven years of receiving their PhD – thus anyone who can serve is more than 7 years past PhD
      1. Laurie Semmes will stay, Jane Florine, Andy Eisenberg
   3. Lecture Committee:
      1. Kathryn Metz staying on as chair, Tony, Meredith Schweig
   4. Bylaws Committee
      1. Construct procedures for election: Meryl Krieger, Jennifer Matsue, Gordon Thompson (JM drafted him)
   5. Committees are now formed. Trevor Harvey is staying on running the website, Phyllis Tang is continuing to serve as listserv manager
10. Announcements: there is a PMS table, you can sit there tomorrow at the banquet, if you’re there look for us.
11. Get your submission in to IASPM – deadline is tonight: Theme is Flow.
12. Ethnomusicology Review recently started the Sounding Off blog (Sounding Board) on the website, and recently started a popular music section of the blog. If you’re interested: ethnomusicologyreview.ucla.edu, ude.alcu|caelodb#ude.alcu|caelodb or emreview.ucla.edu