The Second International Health Humanities Conference
- Music, Health, and Humanity

9, 10, 11 August, 2012
Montclair State University

The Colleges of the Arts, of the Humanities and Social Sciences, and of Education and Human Services at Montclair State University, New Jersey, USA, are hosting the Second International Health Humanities Conference. Montclair State University is located in Northern New Jersey, 14 miles from New York City.

In accordance with the interdisciplinary nature of the Health Humanities, we invite the participation of colleagues from music, other arts disciplines, the humanities, and clinical health backgrounds who wish to join in an exploration concerning the various relationships among music, health, and humanity. We encourage individual and group (colloquium) presentations addressing theory, practice, and/or research (in progress or completed), concerning questions and issues pertinent to the conference theme.

Keynote Participants

Our keynote participants will include Joel Thome, Grammy Award Winning and Pulitzer-Prize Nominated Modern Composer; Chris Pepino, film maker of the award-winning documentary Inside the Perfect Circle: The Odyssey of Joel Thome; and Benedikte Scheiby, Music Therapist from the Institute of Music and Neurologic Function, a member of CenterLight Health System, Beth Abraham Family of Health Services. Keynote participants will also include Dr. Paul Crawford, Professor of Health Humanities, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, and Dr. Brian Brown, Reader in Health Communication, De Montfort University. Specially invited speakers include Dr. Marissa Silverman, scholar/researcher in music Education at Montclair State University's Cali School of Music, and Dr. David Elliott, Professor of Music Education at New York University’s Steinhardt School, and author of several books on music education. Drs. Silverman and Elliott have both focused much of their work on the sociocultural health implications of music.

Special Guest

The conference opening will feature special guest Kate Pierson of the "world's greatest party band" - the B-52s. The B-52's have been advocates for many causes in their 35 years of touring including human rights, animal rights and the right to dance and party!

Publication of Papers

We foresee the publication of papers (expanded, revised and submitted to a peer review process) in one or more volumes post-conference, according to principles of intellectual and theoretical coherence that will give such publications editorial consistency.

For additional information, please contact:
Dr. Brian Abrams
E-mail: abramsb@mail.montclair.edu
Phone: +1 973 655 3458