Discourse is critical: Towards a collaborative NIME history

S. M. Astrid Bin

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

• Year: 2021
• Location: Shanghai, China
• Article Number: 8
• DOI: 10.21428/92fbeb44.ac5d43e1 (Link to paper)
• PDF link
• Presentation Video

Abstract:

Recent work in NIME has questioned the political and social implications of work in this field, and has called for direct action on problems in the areas of diversity, representation and political engagement. Though there is motivation to address these problems, there is an open question of how to meaningfully do so. This paper proposes that NIME’s historical record is the best tool for understanding our own output but this record is incomplete, and makes the case for collective action to improve how we document our work. I begin by contrasting NIME’s output with its discourse, and explore the nature of this discourse through NIME history and examine our inherited epistemological complexity. I assert that, if left unexamined, this complexity can undermine our community values of diversity and inclusion. I argue that meaningfully addressing current problems demands critical reflection on our work, and explore how NIME’s historical record is currently used as a means of doing so. I then review what NIME's historical record contains (and what it does not), and evaluate its fitness for use as a tool of inquiry. Finally I make the case for collective action to establish better documentation practices, and suggest features that may be helpful for the process as well as the result.

Citation:

BibTeX Entry:

  @inproceedings{NIME21_8,
 abstract = {Recent work in NIME has questioned the political and social implications of work in this field, and has called for direct action on problems in the areas of diversity, representation and political engagement. Though there is motivation to address these problems, there is an open question of how to meaningfully do so. This paper proposes that NIME’s historical record is the best tool for understanding our own output but this record is incomplete, and makes the case for collective action to improve how we document our work. I begin by contrasting NIME’s output with its discourse, and explore the nature of this discourse through NIME history and examine our inherited epistemological complexity. I assert that, if left unexamined, this complexity can undermine our community values of diversity and inclusion. I argue that meaningfully addressing current problems demands critical reflection on our work, and explore how NIME’s historical record is currently used as a means of doing so. I then review what NIME's historical record contains (and what it does not), and evaluate its fitness for use as a tool of inquiry. Finally I make the case for collective action to establish better documentation practices, and suggest features that may be helpful for the process as well as the result.},
 address = {Shanghai, China},
 articleno = {8},
 author = {Bin, S. M. Astrid},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.21428/92fbeb44.ac5d43e1},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 presentation-video = {https://youtu.be/omnMRlj7miA},
 title = {Discourse is critical: Towards a collaborative NIME history},
 url = {https://nime.pubpub.org/pub/nbrrk8ll},
 year = {2021}
}