Submissions due by 6 June 2025

Throughout history, music has provided individuals and social groups with more than a soundtrack to daily life, serving as an arena for self- and world-making, a platform for political expression, a means of protest and resistance, and fuel for social change. Music has been at once recognised as a resource for social connectedness and wellbeing and as an effective method of torture. It has been wielded as a civilizing and colonial power, and a scaffolding for identity development and personal expression. The sonic architecture of public spaces can enhance safety, while soundtracks of culture and community have been accused of inciting violence.

The complexity and multivalent associations between music and crime have only recently been the focus of scholarly attention, with isolated pockets of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines. In bringing together these emerging understandings and perspectives, we invite scholars from music studies, sociology, law, criminology, health, social work, education, media and other relevant disciplines to submit critical and creative proposals for the upcoming in-person symposium in Brisbane: Music, Crime, and Social Change.