John C Mullen
Rouen University, Anglais, Faculty Member
- Rouen University, Etudes anglophones, Faculty MemberUniversité de Rouen, Etudes Anglophones, Faculty Memberadd
- Cultural Studies, Modern Britain, First World War, Trade unionism, British Popular Culture, Popular Music, and 29 moreCultural History, Popular Culture, Political History, Modern History, Race and Racism, British History, Contemporary History, Popular Music Studies, Industrial And Labor Relations, Public PolicyStudies, Immigration History, Trade unions, Citizen Charter, Stereotypes Irlandais, Anti Black Songs, International Relations, Educación, Irish Music Hall, French History, Méthodologie De Mémoire De Master, Ireland, Commemoration and Memory, Trench Warfare (First World War), Great War, History, Modern British History, History and Memory, Edwardian Britain, and Global Historyedit
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What did popular song mean to people across the world during the First World War? For the first time, song repertoires and musical industries from countries on both sides in the Great War as well as from neutral countries are analysed in... more
What did popular song mean to people across the world during the First World War? For the first time, song repertoires and musical industries from countries on both sides in the Great War as well as from neutral countries are analysed in one exciting volume. Experts from around the world, and with very different approaches, bring to life the entertainment of a century ago, to show the role it played in the lives of our ancestors. The reader will meet with the penniless lyricist, the theatre chain owner, the cross-dressing singer, fado composer, stage Scotsman or rhyming soldier, whether they come from Serbia, Britain, the USA, Germany, France, Portugal or elsewhere, in this fascinating exploration of showbiz before the generalization of the gramophone. Singing was a vector for patriotic support for the war, and sometimes for anti-war activism, but it was much more than that, and expressed and constructed debates, anxieties, social identities and changes in gender roles. This work, accompanied by many links to online recordings, will allow the reader to glimpse the complex role of popular song in people’s lives in a period of total war.
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From Callaghan to the Clash, from Grunwick to Rock against Racism, from Edward Heath to Britain's string of Nobel Science prizes, this annotated timeline of the 1970s recounts the key events and the key statistics of the decade of... more
From Callaghan to the Clash, from Grunwick to Rock against Racism, from Edward Heath to Britain's string of Nobel Science prizes, this annotated timeline of the 1970s recounts the key events and the key statistics of the decade of feminism, the three day week and Monty Python.
Ideal as a reference or revision tool, or as an introduction to the decade this lively book covers well-known and forgotten-but-symbolic features of a period torn between continuing social progress and mass unemployment, a time which produces no consensus among those who study it, but which inspires respect and even awe.
Dozens of links to online resources- BBC videos, articles or sitcoms- make the work even more useful to help get to the truths behind the headlines.
Ideal as a reference or revision tool, or as an introduction to the decade this lively book covers well-known and forgotten-but-symbolic features of a period torn between continuing social progress and mass unemployment, a time which produces no consensus among those who study it, but which inspires respect and even awe.
Dozens of links to online resources- BBC videos, articles or sitcoms- make the work even more useful to help get to the truths behind the headlines.
Research Interests:
• Series : Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series See details on publisher's website here http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472441591 • • Using a collection of over one thousand popular songs from the war years, as well as around 150... more
• Series : Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series
See details on publisher's website here
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472441591
•
• Using a collection of over one thousand popular songs from the war years, as well as around 150 soldiers’ songs, John Mullen provides a fascinating insight into the world of popular entertainment during the First World War. Mullen considers the position of songs of this time within the history of popular music, and the needs, tastes and experiences of working-class audiences who loved this music. To do this, he dispels some of the nostalgic, rose-tinted myths about music hall. At a time when recording companies and record sales were marginal, the book shows the centrality of the live show and of the sale of sheet music to the economy of the entertainment industry. Mullen assesses the popularity and significance of the different genres of musical entertainment which were common in the war years and the previous decades, including music hall, revue, pantomime, musical comedy, blackface minstrelsy, army entertainment and amateur entertainment in prisoner of war camps. He also considers non-commercial songs, such as hymns, folk songs and soldiers’ songs and weaves them into a subtle and nuanced approach to the nature of popular song, the ways in which audiences related to the music and the effects of the competing pressures of commerce, propaganda, patriotism, social attitudes and the progress of the war.
•
• Contents: Preface; Introduction: Battles, society and entertainment; Portrait of an industry: producing popular music 1914-1918; Focus on a star 1: Harry Lauder, Scottish ambassador?; A patchwork of genres; Focus on a star 2: Vesta Tilley, the woman who played men; The songs and their content; Focus on a star 3: Focus on a star: Marie Lloyd, ‘Our Marie’; ‘If you were the only girl in the world’: women, men and love in music hall song; Focus on a star 4: Harry Champion: ‘The spirit of the poorer parts of London’; Songs about the war: elite voices and people’s voices; ‘I want to go home’: soldier songs and other non-commercial songs; Conclusions; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.
•
• About the Author: John Mullen is senior lecturer at the University of Paris-East Créteil. He has published widely on the history of British popular music. Articles include a reflection on 'ethnic' music festivals and immigrant identity (1960–2000), and a piece on racial stereotyping in music-hall songs from 1880 to 1920. His website is www.johncmullen.net.
See details on publisher's website here
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472441591
•
• Using a collection of over one thousand popular songs from the war years, as well as around 150 soldiers’ songs, John Mullen provides a fascinating insight into the world of popular entertainment during the First World War. Mullen considers the position of songs of this time within the history of popular music, and the needs, tastes and experiences of working-class audiences who loved this music. To do this, he dispels some of the nostalgic, rose-tinted myths about music hall. At a time when recording companies and record sales were marginal, the book shows the centrality of the live show and of the sale of sheet music to the economy of the entertainment industry. Mullen assesses the popularity and significance of the different genres of musical entertainment which were common in the war years and the previous decades, including music hall, revue, pantomime, musical comedy, blackface minstrelsy, army entertainment and amateur entertainment in prisoner of war camps. He also considers non-commercial songs, such as hymns, folk songs and soldiers’ songs and weaves them into a subtle and nuanced approach to the nature of popular song, the ways in which audiences related to the music and the effects of the competing pressures of commerce, propaganda, patriotism, social attitudes and the progress of the war.
•
• Contents: Preface; Introduction: Battles, society and entertainment; Portrait of an industry: producing popular music 1914-1918; Focus on a star 1: Harry Lauder, Scottish ambassador?; A patchwork of genres; Focus on a star 2: Vesta Tilley, the woman who played men; The songs and their content; Focus on a star 3: Focus on a star: Marie Lloyd, ‘Our Marie’; ‘If you were the only girl in the world’: women, men and love in music hall song; Focus on a star 4: Harry Champion: ‘The spirit of the poorer parts of London’; Songs about the war: elite voices and people’s voices; ‘I want to go home’: soldier songs and other non-commercial songs; Conclusions; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.
•
• About the Author: John Mullen is senior lecturer at the University of Paris-East Créteil. He has published widely on the history of British popular music. Articles include a reflection on 'ethnic' music festivals and immigrant identity (1960–2000), and a piece on racial stereotyping in music-hall songs from 1880 to 1920. His website is www.johncmullen.net.
Research Interests:
Comment faisait-on pour chanter, et vendre des chansons, en Angleterre pendant la Grande Guerre ? Que chantait-on pour oublier la peur de la guerre ? Quels étaient les modes de diffusion et de mise en scène du divertissement ? Ce livre... more
Comment faisait-on pour chanter, et vendre des chansons, en Angleterre pendant la Grande Guerre ? Que chantait-on pour oublier la peur de la guerre ? Quels étaient les modes de diffusion et de mise en scène du divertissement ? Ce livre dépeint un monde dans lequel les défilés de « monstres » humains suivaient des numéros d’acrobatie, et où les chansons guerrières, résignées, pathétiques ou humoristiques, s’entonnaient en chœur le soir au music-hall.
À travers l’analyse de centaines de chansons, l’ouvrage offre un aperçu fascinant de la vie des Anglais ordinaires de l’époque. Il explore des questions fondamentales : la nature de l’enthousiasme guerrier du peuple au début de la guerre, sa réaction à l’enlisement, ou le nouveau rôle des femmes au sein de la culture populaire.
Ces chansons surprenantes — parfois racistes ou misogynes, souvent ludiques ou simplement bizarres — peuvent être écoutées grâce à des liens internet vers les enregistrements d’origine.
Le livre propose également une analyse originale des centaines de chansons inventées par les soldats dans les tranchées qui contrastaient avec le répertoire de chants que voulait imposer la hiérarchie militaire.
À travers l’analyse de centaines de chansons, l’ouvrage offre un aperçu fascinant de la vie des Anglais ordinaires de l’époque. Il explore des questions fondamentales : la nature de l’enthousiasme guerrier du peuple au début de la guerre, sa réaction à l’enlisement, ou le nouveau rôle des femmes au sein de la culture populaire.
Ces chansons surprenantes — parfois racistes ou misogynes, souvent ludiques ou simplement bizarres — peuvent être écoutées grâce à des liens internet vers les enregistrements d’origine.
Le livre propose également une analyse originale des centaines de chansons inventées par les soldats dans les tranchées qui contrastaient avec le répertoire de chants que voulait imposer la hiérarchie militaire.
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John Mullen's The Show Must Go on! Popular Song in Britain during the First World War is part of the Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series. Mullen discusses a variety of musical genres – including musical comedy, hymns, socialist choirs,... more
John Mullen's The Show Must Go on! Popular Song in Britain during the First World War is part of the Ashgate Popular and Folk Music Series. Mullen discusses a variety of musical genres – including musical comedy, hymns, socialist choirs, and folk song – but his primary emphasis is on music hall, then in its heyday, though it would soon be eclipsed by records, film, and radio. Mullen's research gives us a fascinating glimpse into a particular moment in British popular culture, the last time when live performance was the primary form of entertainment for the British working class. His book is packed with information about virtually every aspect of music hall: organization, working conditions, song lyrics, artists, artisans, and impresarios, as well as the massive changes wrought on this form by the First World War. For the scholar of popular music, Mullen provides a treasure trove of material. The book is divided into six chapters interspersed with four brief portraits of music hall stars (Harry Lauder, Vesta Tilley, Marie Lloyd, and Harry Champion) and a brief conclusion at the end. Chapter 1, " Portrait of an Industry, " provides a general introduction to the world of popular music during the First World War, with sections describing the history, organization, ideology, workers, and audience for a variety of musical activities. Chapter 2 describes the many musical genres that were available on the stage during this era. Chapter 3 takes a detailed look at the songs themselves. Chapter 4 examines relations between the sexes, both in the songs and on the music hall stage, and in society at large where wartime allowed an expansion of women's roles and first-wave feminists were agitating for birth control and the vote. Chapter 5 looks at songs written specifically for the war. Chapter 6 looks at forms of music other than music hall: hymns, folk songs, and soldiers' songs. Mullen provides a bracing discussion of the political context and meanings of the songs, particularly in chapters 4 and 5. The Show Must Go on! breaks no new theoretical ground, and the theoretical research that it cites is scant and not always up-to-date. The book's great achievement lies in the massive amount of information it provides on the tightly focused subject of popular music, and particularly music hall, during the First World War. Scholars of music hall and of the popular culture of World War I will find this book invaluable. It will also appeal to scholars with a more general interest in British popular music or twentieth-century working-class culture. However, this narrow focus may also be the book's greatest weakness. Because of its detailed examination of a relatively narrow topic, it is unlikely to engage readers who do not already have an interest in the subject.
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A review by Yann Beliard in the online review Inmedia of the French edition of my book. "The Show Must Go On : la Chanson populaire en Grande-Bretagne pendant la Grande Guerre" L'Harmattan Paris 2013 (in English "The Show Must Go On:... more
A review by Yann Beliard in the online review Inmedia of the French edition of my book. "The Show Must Go On : la Chanson populaire en Grande-Bretagne pendant la Grande Guerre" L'Harmattan Paris 2013 (in English "The Show Must Go On: Popular Song in Britain during the first World War", London, Routledge, 2015).
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In November 1922, the fledgling BBC broadcast for the first time. Almost nobody knew that broadcasting would transform the everyday lives of people from all social classes. A century later, left activists in the UK seem to be divided... more
In November 1922, the fledgling BBC broadcast for
the first time. Almost nobody knew that broadcasting
would transform the everyday lives of people from all
social classes. A century later, left activists in the UK
seem to be divided between defending a public service
which provides cheap popular education and
entertainment and useful news coverage, and
denouncing a state-supervised body always
predictably on the wrong side when it comes to strikes
and popular revolt in Britain.
the first time. Almost nobody knew that broadcasting
would transform the everyday lives of people from all
social classes. A century later, left activists in the UK
seem to be divided between defending a public service
which provides cheap popular education and
entertainment and useful news coverage, and
denouncing a state-supervised body always
predictably on the wrong side when it comes to strikes
and popular revolt in Britain.
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La BBC a été, depuis ses débuts, un vecteur de diffusion de produits culturels d’une importance inimaginable pour les générations précédentes. La musique en a été un des contenus les plus significatifs, et avant tout la musique populaire.... more
La BBC a été, depuis ses débuts, un vecteur de diffusion de produits culturels d’une importance inimaginable pour les générations précédentes. La musique en a été un des contenus les plus significatifs, et avant tout la musique populaire. C’est une histoire constituée de milliers d’émissions, impossible à résumer. Une institution puissante, disposant du monopole de la télévision jusqu’en 1954 et de la radio jusqu’en 1970, et qui tentait de répondre aux priorités de l’élite, et également aux besoins du public, dans une société en transformation rapide. Tout cela en présentant un objet – la musique populaire – qui lui-même était sujet à de continuelles modifications. Cet article a la modeste ambition d’examiner quelques épisodes de cette histoire dans l’espoir d’éclairer sa dynamique.
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In popular song, who is addressing whom and why? Who is doing what, and why? I would like to present here some initial reflections on experience and communication when consuming popular song (although consuming may not be the best word... more
In popular song, who is addressing whom and why? Who is doing what, and why? I would like to present here
some initial reflections on experience and communication when consuming popular song (although consuming
may not be the best word to use). They are thoughts about what is repetitive, what is participative and what is
collective in audience musicking. I will be looking above all at examples where people are singing in groups, but
I consider that the individual use of a song – singing along to the radio or to YouTube, singing in the shower or
whistling, is linked to an imagined collective
some initial reflections on experience and communication when consuming popular song (although consuming
may not be the best word to use). They are thoughts about what is repetitive, what is participative and what is
collective in audience musicking. I will be looking above all at examples where people are singing in groups, but
I consider that the individual use of a song – singing along to the radio or to YouTube, singing in the shower or
whistling, is linked to an imagined collective
As "a new type of war memorial" 1418NOW asked a large number of people to write an imaginary letter to a soldier who died in the First World War. This is the letter I contributed.
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Pourquoi produit-on des chansons antiracistes, et quels effets ont-elles ? Cette contribution va explorer ces questions en se fondant sur un corpus de quelques dizaines de chansons écrites depuis 60 ans. Un certain nombre de chercheurs se... more
Pourquoi produit-on des chansons antiracistes, et quels effets ont-elles ? Cette contribution va explorer ces questions en se fondant sur un corpus de quelques dizaines de chansons écrites depuis 60 ans. Un certain nombre de chercheurs se sont penchés sur la chanson contestataire. Serge Denisoff en a fait une classification en fonction des contenus rhétoriques ; certaines chansons, écrit-il, visent à attirer du soutien, là où d'autres mettent en scène un positionnement radical personnel de l'artiste. Le débat s'est longtemps nourri sur le fait de savoir si de telles chansons s'adressaient aux seuls convaincus ou si elles pouvaient avoir une fonction éducative plus large. En procédant à une analyse des campagnes et des chansons antiracistes au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande, nous espérons évaluer le potentiel de ces créations. Nous examinerons en premier lieu quelques campagnes antiracistes construites sur l'activité musicale ; ensuite, nous analyserons une série de chansons afin de déconstruire le mécanisme de communication qu'elles mettent en oeuvre et l'effet des genres musicaux sur le potentiel des chansons.
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Edited by Clémentine Tholas-Disset and Karen A. Ritzenhoff, this book contains 16 chapters looking at all aspects of humour and entertainment durign the First War. My own chapter is entitled "“YOU CAN’T HELP LAUGHING, CAN YOU?”: HUMOUR... more
Edited by Clémentine Tholas-Disset and Karen A. Ritzenhoff, this book contains 16 chapters looking at all aspects of humour and entertainment durign the First War. My own chapter is entitled "“YOU CAN’T HELP LAUGHING, CAN YOU?”: HUMOUR AND SYMBOLIC EMPOWERMENT IN BRITISH POPULAR SONG DURING THE GREAT WAR." Popular song in 1914 in Britain was already a major industry, making millions both from selling of tickets for the music hall and from selling sheet music for people to use at home. The gramophone was still very much a minority affair - millions of British soldiers saw a gramophone for the first time while they were in the war. If live performance remained central, some aspects of modern pop music were already in place. Highly-paid stars came from working class backgrounds and their audiences identified with them and idolized them. The three-minute song already made up the greater part of the repertoire, often involving a sing-along chorus which was essential to the entertainment experience.
British popular culture in 1914 was no doubt even more strongly marked by humour than it is today. Among the thousands of music-hall singers, there were hundreds who specialized in comic songs. This humour could be of many types: there were many songs which today would be recognized as racist, antisemitic or misogynous, but there were also many grimly humorous songs dealing with the harsh realities of life for the working-class audience of the music hall.
This chapter follows up on my study of over a thousand music-hall songs popular between 1914 and 1918. Although a few of the numbers, such as “It’s a Long Way To Tipperary” or “Oh It’s a Lovely War!” are well-known, 99% have been completely forgotten.
A large proportion of the repertoire was humorous: sometimes songs mocked the Germans or the Kaiser, the military hierarchy or death itself. At other times their target was the racialized Other - the Irish or the Jews in particular - or traditional scapegoats such as Mothers-in-Law or dominant wives. We will look at what is typical of these songs and what conclusions can be drawn from this content.
Why was humour so prevalent in both music hall songs and soldier songs of the period - incomparably more so than during the Second World War or in popular music in the 21st century? Is it reasonable to conclude that the humorous content was pushed forward by elites to deliberately lighten the load on the population with the aim of reinforcing their capacity to wage war? Or did the humorous content come exclusively from its deep roots in British popular culture? In what ways did the conditions of production of music hall songs influence the types of content which dominated? These are some of the issues this contribution will be dealing with.
British popular culture in 1914 was no doubt even more strongly marked by humour than it is today. Among the thousands of music-hall singers, there were hundreds who specialized in comic songs. This humour could be of many types: there were many songs which today would be recognized as racist, antisemitic or misogynous, but there were also many grimly humorous songs dealing with the harsh realities of life for the working-class audience of the music hall.
This chapter follows up on my study of over a thousand music-hall songs popular between 1914 and 1918. Although a few of the numbers, such as “It’s a Long Way To Tipperary” or “Oh It’s a Lovely War!” are well-known, 99% have been completely forgotten.
A large proportion of the repertoire was humorous: sometimes songs mocked the Germans or the Kaiser, the military hierarchy or death itself. At other times their target was the racialized Other - the Irish or the Jews in particular - or traditional scapegoats such as Mothers-in-Law or dominant wives. We will look at what is typical of these songs and what conclusions can be drawn from this content.
Why was humour so prevalent in both music hall songs and soldier songs of the period - incomparably more so than during the Second World War or in popular music in the 21st century? Is it reasonable to conclude that the humorous content was pushed forward by elites to deliberately lighten the load on the population with the aim of reinforcing their capacity to wage war? Or did the humorous content come exclusively from its deep roots in British popular culture? In what ways did the conditions of production of music hall songs influence the types of content which dominated? These are some of the issues this contribution will be dealing with.
Research Interests:
You will find here a presentation of the book, the table of contents and a short abstract of my chapter. John Mullen. Presentation Professionalisation was a key feature of the changing nature of work and society in the nineteenth... more
You will find here a presentation of the book, the table of contents and a short abstract of my chapter. John Mullen.
Presentation
Professionalisation was a key feature of the changing nature of work and society in the nineteenth century, with formal accreditation, registration and organisation becoming increasingly common. Trades and occupations sought protection and improved status via alignment with the professions: an attempt to impose order and standards amid rapid social change, urbanisation and technological development. The structures and expectations governing the music profession were no exception, and were central to changing perceptions of musicians and music itself during the long nineteenth century. The central themes of status and identity run throughout this book, charting ways in which the music profession engaged with its place in society. Contributors investigate the ways in which musicians viewed their own identities, public perceptions of the working musician, the statuses of different sectors of the profession and attempts to manipulate both status and identity. Ten chapters examine a range of sectors of the music profession, from publishers and performers to teachers and military musicians, and overall themes include class, gender and formal accreditation. The chapters demonstrate the wide range of sectors within the music profession, the different ways in which these took on status and identity, and the unique position of professional musicians both to adopt and to challenge social norms.
Presentation
Professionalisation was a key feature of the changing nature of work and society in the nineteenth century, with formal accreditation, registration and organisation becoming increasingly common. Trades and occupations sought protection and improved status via alignment with the professions: an attempt to impose order and standards amid rapid social change, urbanisation and technological development. The structures and expectations governing the music profession were no exception, and were central to changing perceptions of musicians and music itself during the long nineteenth century. The central themes of status and identity run throughout this book, charting ways in which the music profession engaged with its place in society. Contributors investigate the ways in which musicians viewed their own identities, public perceptions of the working musician, the statuses of different sectors of the profession and attempts to manipulate both status and identity. Ten chapters examine a range of sectors of the music profession, from publishers and performers to teachers and military musicians, and overall themes include class, gender and formal accreditation. The chapters demonstrate the wide range of sectors within the music profession, the different ways in which these took on status and identity, and the unique position of professional musicians both to adopt and to challenge social norms.
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This is a chapter I wrote for the book "Anti-social behaviour: Victorian and Contemporary perspectives" edited by Sarah Pickard (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2014) Antisocial behaviour as a defined problem has always had a class content.... more
This is a chapter I wrote for the book "Anti-social behaviour: Victorian and Contemporary perspectives" edited by Sarah Pickard (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2014)
Antisocial behaviour as a defined problem has always had a class content. Campaigns against antisocial behaviour aim among other things at recruiting the general public to a conception of social problems which is notably partisan.
In the late Victorian period, the generalized and even obsessive search for “respectability” and the denunciation of “vulgarity” as a significant threat to society can be considered to be a type of campaign against antisocial behaviour, and the distance we have to look upon it now may help us see its ideological nature more clearly.
The campaign for respectability was particularly present in the music-hall, a working-class entertainment trying hard, with slow success, to move up-market. The danger of “vulgarity” was ever-present and was a particular worry to upwardly-mobile music-hall managers and stars determined to join the elite of society, and in need of impeccable respectability.
Our contribution will look at different aspects of this campaign for respectability in the music halls, in particular the intervention of politicians and of the press.
Antisocial behaviour as a defined problem has always had a class content. Campaigns against antisocial behaviour aim among other things at recruiting the general public to a conception of social problems which is notably partisan.
In the late Victorian period, the generalized and even obsessive search for “respectability” and the denunciation of “vulgarity” as a significant threat to society can be considered to be a type of campaign against antisocial behaviour, and the distance we have to look upon it now may help us see its ideological nature more clearly.
The campaign for respectability was particularly present in the music-hall, a working-class entertainment trying hard, with slow success, to move up-market. The danger of “vulgarity” was ever-present and was a particular worry to upwardly-mobile music-hall managers and stars determined to join the elite of society, and in need of impeccable respectability.
Our contribution will look at different aspects of this campaign for respectability in the music halls, in particular the intervention of politicians and of the press.
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Commentators are unanimous about the important role of the UK in the 1970s in the history of popular music. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, the Sex Pistols and the Police : perhaps no other country produced as many influential... more
Commentators are unanimous about the important role of the UK in the 1970s in the history of popular music. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, the Sex Pistols and the Police : perhaps no other country produced as many influential artistes in this decade. Yet there has generally been a separation between « serious » historical analyses of the decade’s social history and examinations of its musical legacy. This article attempts to look at the music in connection with the history of British society. What was changing about people’s relationship to music ? What were artistes proposing to consumers, as entertainment, as philosophical or political discourse or as aesthetic rebellion ?
Revue française de civilisation britannique est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution-Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale-Pas de Modification 4.0 International.
Revue française de civilisation britannique est mis à disposition selon les termes de la licence Creative Commons Attribution-Pas d'Utilisation Commerciale-Pas de Modification 4.0 International.
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Paper given at expert workshop « From parlour sing-songs to iplayers: Experiencing culture in the 20th and 21st century home », University of Lincoln, UK, 22-23 May 2014.
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What can political rock do? Is it only preaching to the converted? Can it shift people's attitudes? What kinds of activity around music have a political effect? The Tom Robinson Band had a distinctive approach to political rock music, in... more
What can political rock do? Is it only preaching to the converted? Can it shift people's attitudes? What kinds of activity around music have a political effect?
The Tom Robinson Band had a distinctive approach to political rock music, in their brief career at the end of the nineteen seventies. Neither underground counter-culture nor stadium charity rock, they tried to encourage grassroots involvement in politics as well as to spread their ideas widely, through the pop charts if necessary. This article takes the band as an example to pose the wider question “What Can Political Rock do?”, and develops an approach which puts the concept of the participatory nature of popular music at the centre of the analysis. One of Tom Robinson’s songs was named by Time Out as one of “a hundred songs which changed history”: our article attempts to show why and how this might be the case.
The Tom Robinson Band had a distinctive approach to political rock music, in their brief career at the end of the nineteen seventies. Neither underground counter-culture nor stadium charity rock, they tried to encourage grassroots involvement in politics as well as to spread their ideas widely, through the pop charts if necessary. This article takes the band as an example to pose the wider question “What Can Political Rock do?”, and develops an approach which puts the concept of the participatory nature of popular music at the centre of the analysis. One of Tom Robinson’s songs was named by Time Out as one of “a hundred songs which changed history”: our article attempts to show why and how this might be the case.
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Photos from around Britain showing the immense variety of commemorative activity in 2014.
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Quelles sources les historiens britanniques de la Première Guerre ont-ils utilisées ? Quelles questions ont-ils posées ? Cet article retrace en détail les trois configurations historiographiques identifiées par Prost et Winter et... more
Quelles sources les historiens britanniques de la Première Guerre ont-ils utilisées ? Quelles questions ont-ils posées ? Cet article retrace en détail les trois configurations historiographiques identifiées par Prost et Winter et explore des controverses historiographiques récentes, avant de procéder à une analyse thématique détaillée des 103 thèses sur la Grande Guerre soutenues au Royaume-Uni depuis 2000.
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"Racism in British Popular Music 1880-1920 John Mullen, maître de conférences, Université Paris-Est Créteil L’expansion rapide de l’empire britannique durant la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle fut accompagnée par une généralisation et... more
"Racism in British Popular Music 1880-1920
John Mullen, maître de conférences, Université Paris-Est Créteil
L’expansion rapide de l’empire britannique durant la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle fut accompagnée par une généralisation et une légitimation des idées racistes. Des intellectuels discouraient sur les différences “établies par la science” entre les races, et une hiérarchie raciale était généralement acceptée par les gens instruits? Que dire du peuple pas instruit? Les bandes dessinées et les revues pour enfants racontaient les aventures des héros impériaux et n’hésitaient pas à se servir abondamment de stéréotypes racistes.
Le racisme contre les noirs contribuait à légitimer le projet impérial, mais pour l’essentiel, pendant cette période, ne visait pas une minorité ethnique visible en Angleterre. Notre article vise à analyser le contenu raciste de la musique populaire entre 1880 et 1920, à la fois dans les spectacles extrêmement populaires des “Blackface minstrels” lors desquels des hommes blancs se déguisaient en caricature d’esclave noir pour divertir leur public, et aussi dans les “chansons de nègre” très courantes dans mes music halls britanniques à l’époque.
Nous retracerons la représentation de l’Autre noir, en tant qu’image en miroir de la personne respectable de la période victorienne ou édouardienne. Nous verrons aussi comment l’image du Noir, généralement faite pour être insultée pouvait être enviée ou désirée."
John Mullen, maître de conférences, Université Paris-Est Créteil
L’expansion rapide de l’empire britannique durant la deuxième moitié du XIXe siècle fut accompagnée par une généralisation et une légitimation des idées racistes. Des intellectuels discouraient sur les différences “établies par la science” entre les races, et une hiérarchie raciale était généralement acceptée par les gens instruits? Que dire du peuple pas instruit? Les bandes dessinées et les revues pour enfants racontaient les aventures des héros impériaux et n’hésitaient pas à se servir abondamment de stéréotypes racistes.
Le racisme contre les noirs contribuait à légitimer le projet impérial, mais pour l’essentiel, pendant cette période, ne visait pas une minorité ethnique visible en Angleterre. Notre article vise à analyser le contenu raciste de la musique populaire entre 1880 et 1920, à la fois dans les spectacles extrêmement populaires des “Blackface minstrels” lors desquels des hommes blancs se déguisaient en caricature d’esclave noir pour divertir leur public, et aussi dans les “chansons de nègre” très courantes dans mes music halls britanniques à l’époque.
Nous retracerons la représentation de l’Autre noir, en tant qu’image en miroir de la personne respectable de la période victorienne ou édouardienne. Nous verrons aussi comment l’image du Noir, généralement faite pour être insultée pouvait être enviée ou désirée."
Research Interests:
"Abstract : La législation syndicale de Thatcher à Brown : menaces et opportunités pour les syndicats John Mullen, Maître de Conférences, Université Paris 12 La limitation de l’activité syndicale par la mise en place d’une nouvelle... more
"Abstract : La législation syndicale de Thatcher à Brown : menaces et opportunités pour les syndicats
John Mullen, Maître de Conférences, Université Paris 12
La limitation de l’activité syndicale par la mise en place d’une nouvelle législation comptait parmi les priorités des gouvernements de Margaret Thatcher et de John Major à partir de1979. Les quatre Employment Act de 1980, 1982, 1988 et 1990, ainsi que les Trade Union Act de 1984 et de 1993 témoignent de la centralité de cette préoccupation, mais aussi de la méthode gradualiste choisie. Les gouvernements de Blair et de Brown ont abrogé certaines dispositions de ces lois, tout en laissant intacte la plus grande partie des mesures. Par ailleurs, ils ont voté d’autres lois (notamment les Employment Relations Act 1999 et Employment Act 2002 ) perçues comme étant plus favorables à l’activité syndicale.
Notre contribution retracera l’histoire de ces lois, en soulignant les visions politiques qui les inspiraient, le décalage parfois important entre l’objectif annoncé et les résultats atteints, et leurs effets très divers sur la combativité des syndicats anglais.
Abstract : Trade Union legislation from Thatcher to Brown – threats and opportunities for trade unionism
Placing limits on trade union activity by new legislation was among the priorities of the Thatcher-Major governments from 1979 on. The four Employment Acts of 1980, 1982, 1988 and 1990, as well as the Trade Union Acts of 1984 and 1993 show the importance of this aim, as well as the fact that a gradual approach was chosen. The Blair and Brown governments have left intact the most important of these laws, but they have passed new laws seen as more favourable to union activity.
Our paper will look at the history of these laws, the political vision which inspired them and the practical results. We hope particularly to demonstrate that the gap between theory and practical effect was sometimes large, and to draw conclusions about the various impacts of the laws on trade union combativity.
"
Vous pouvez lire l'article en cluqant sur le lien jcmullen.fr
John Mullen, Maître de Conférences, Université Paris 12
La limitation de l’activité syndicale par la mise en place d’une nouvelle législation comptait parmi les priorités des gouvernements de Margaret Thatcher et de John Major à partir de1979. Les quatre Employment Act de 1980, 1982, 1988 et 1990, ainsi que les Trade Union Act de 1984 et de 1993 témoignent de la centralité de cette préoccupation, mais aussi de la méthode gradualiste choisie. Les gouvernements de Blair et de Brown ont abrogé certaines dispositions de ces lois, tout en laissant intacte la plus grande partie des mesures. Par ailleurs, ils ont voté d’autres lois (notamment les Employment Relations Act 1999 et Employment Act 2002 ) perçues comme étant plus favorables à l’activité syndicale.
Notre contribution retracera l’histoire de ces lois, en soulignant les visions politiques qui les inspiraient, le décalage parfois important entre l’objectif annoncé et les résultats atteints, et leurs effets très divers sur la combativité des syndicats anglais.
Abstract : Trade Union legislation from Thatcher to Brown – threats and opportunities for trade unionism
Placing limits on trade union activity by new legislation was among the priorities of the Thatcher-Major governments from 1979 on. The four Employment Acts of 1980, 1982, 1988 and 1990, as well as the Trade Union Acts of 1984 and 1993 show the importance of this aim, as well as the fact that a gradual approach was chosen. The Blair and Brown governments have left intact the most important of these laws, but they have passed new laws seen as more favourable to union activity.
Our paper will look at the history of these laws, the political vision which inspired them and the practical results. We hope particularly to demonstrate that the gap between theory and practical effect was sometimes large, and to draw conclusions about the various impacts of the laws on trade union combativity.
"
Vous pouvez lire l'article en cluqant sur le lien jcmullen.fr
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
"The need to gain and maintain general acceptance for the waging of a war in which casualties would reach unimaginable heights involved what was no doubt the most ambitious propaganda campaign in British history, mobilizing politicians,... more
"The need to gain and maintain general acceptance for the waging of a war in which casualties would reach unimaginable heights involved what was no doubt the most ambitious propaganda campaign in British history, mobilizing politicians, intellectuals, feminists, trade union leaders and popular heroes such as the music hall stars. It is the relation of popular song with the war propaganda which will be the main subject of our paper, through the study of a large corpus of contemporary songs.
We will argue that this form of propaganda through song was essential to the successful construction of a patriotic consensus, in particular because it could speak to a mass audience who were often wary of declarations coming directly from the moneyed classes. However, contrary to the standard image of music hall songs, jingoism disappeared rapidly once the war had become a war of attrition, to be replaced by hopes for the end of the war and a return to normal living.
The tradition of music hall had long included a capacity to deal with the everyday life and sufferings of ordinary people, and this is evident in some of the wartime songs, almost all of them forgotten today. Resistance to war priorities was possible because of the links of the singers with their audience, and the shared opposition to some of the ruling class’s values. It was almost never direct resistance to the war project, but often to the price paid by ordinary people and the absolute lack of priority given to their needs.
These voices of dissent were strictly limited by the “respectability” of music hall theatre owners, and their need not to alienate sections of their audience, but were nevertheless present in music hall songs, though less prominent than in the “trench songs” written and sung by the soldiers themselves. In the last part of the paper we will look at the sarcastic and disillusioned dissent in soldiers’ songs"
Click on the link "revuesshs.u-bourgogne..." to read the full text of this paper.
We will argue that this form of propaganda through song was essential to the successful construction of a patriotic consensus, in particular because it could speak to a mass audience who were often wary of declarations coming directly from the moneyed classes. However, contrary to the standard image of music hall songs, jingoism disappeared rapidly once the war had become a war of attrition, to be replaced by hopes for the end of the war and a return to normal living.
The tradition of music hall had long included a capacity to deal with the everyday life and sufferings of ordinary people, and this is evident in some of the wartime songs, almost all of them forgotten today. Resistance to war priorities was possible because of the links of the singers with their audience, and the shared opposition to some of the ruling class’s values. It was almost never direct resistance to the war project, but often to the price paid by ordinary people and the absolute lack of priority given to their needs.
These voices of dissent were strictly limited by the “respectability” of music hall theatre owners, and their need not to alienate sections of their audience, but were nevertheless present in music hall songs, though less prominent than in the “trench songs” written and sung by the soldiers themselves. In the last part of the paper we will look at the sarcastic and disillusioned dissent in soldiers’ songs"
Click on the link "revuesshs.u-bourgogne..." to read the full text of this paper.
Research Interests:
" La Clé des Langues. septembre 2013 « Les tubes de la Grande Guerre au Royaume-Uni » John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil Cet article propose de présenter 10 tubes du music hall britannique de la Grande Guerre, chacun avec une... more
" La Clé des Langues. septembre 2013
« Les tubes de la Grande Guerre au Royaume-Uni » John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil
Cet article propose de présenter 10 tubes du music hall britannique de la Grande Guerre, chacun avec une explication qui permet de saisir quelques aspects du vécu de la guerre et la nature du divertissement populaire, les vedettes et le public d’il y a un siècle. Chaque chanson aura un lien hypertexte vers un enregistrement original sur internet. Les chansons ont été choisies pour leur accessibilité relative (en termes musicaux) pour le public d’aujourd’hui.
Pour chaque titre, un extrait des paroles d’une quinzaine de lignes sera présenté en anglais (sans traduction). Le commentaire, en français, de 600 à 1 000 mots par chanson, reviendra sur le thème de la chanson, et ce qu’il montre de la vie quotidienne des publics populaires de l’époque. C'est-à-dire qu’il s’agira d’un commentaire civilisationnistes, et non linguistique.
Certaines chansons sont accompagnées d’une photo de la vedette qui les chantaient.
Cliquez sur le lienr ce.ens.lyon pour le texte intégral de l'article.
« Les tubes de la Grande Guerre au Royaume-Uni » John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil
Cet article propose de présenter 10 tubes du music hall britannique de la Grande Guerre, chacun avec une explication qui permet de saisir quelques aspects du vécu de la guerre et la nature du divertissement populaire, les vedettes et le public d’il y a un siècle. Chaque chanson aura un lien hypertexte vers un enregistrement original sur internet. Les chansons ont été choisies pour leur accessibilité relative (en termes musicaux) pour le public d’aujourd’hui.
Pour chaque titre, un extrait des paroles d’une quinzaine de lignes sera présenté en anglais (sans traduction). Le commentaire, en français, de 600 à 1 000 mots par chanson, reviendra sur le thème de la chanson, et ce qu’il montre de la vie quotidienne des publics populaires de l’époque. C'est-à-dire qu’il s’agira d’un commentaire civilisationnistes, et non linguistique.
Certaines chansons sont accompagnées d’une photo de la vedette qui les chantaient.
Cliquez sur le lienr ce.ens.lyon pour le texte intégral de l'article.
Research Interests:
J’ai tenté de couvrir dans l’article une longue période, de 1979 à 2007 et de présenter la complexité des actions syndicales dans ce domaine, et les idéologies différentes qui sous-tendaient des campagnes particulières. La variété était... more
J’ai tenté de couvrir dans l’article une longue période, de 1979 à 2007 et de présenter la complexité des actions syndicales dans ce domaine, et les idéologies différentes qui sous-tendaient des campagnes particulières. La variété était considérable – de la grève contre l’emploi d’un dirigeant d’une organisation fasciste dans une bibliothèque municipale à un système de parrainage par des cadres supérieurs issus des minorités ethniques, en passant par l’utilisation des lois qui obligent l’employeur à « promouvoir l’égalité raciale », sans oublier des campagnes antiracistes plus traditionnelles. Contrairement à ce qu’on entend souvent au sujet du « multiculturalisme anglo-saxon », les choix britanniques de politique publique sont très différents de ceux en vigueur aux États Unis (notamment il n’existe aucune politique de quotas).
Au cours de l’étude, je n’ai pas voulu éviter des questions qui en France sont très controversées, telles que le traitement de la discrimination religieuse, même si le centre de l’article concerne les types d’action entrepris par les syndiqués afin de combattre la discrimination.
Au cours de l’étude, je n’ai pas voulu éviter des questions qui en France sont très controversées, telles que le traitement de la discrimination religieuse, même si le centre de l’article concerne les types d’action entrepris par les syndiqués afin de combattre la discrimination.
Research Interests:
Lors de la préparation de ma monographie, j’avais été surpris du très grand nombre de chansons qui traitait des Irlandais et de l’Irlande (près de 5 % du total), une quantité bien plus grande que ne pouvait justifier la présence d’une... more
Lors de la préparation de ma monographie, j’avais été surpris du très grand nombre de chansons qui traitait des Irlandais et de l’Irlande (près de 5 % du total), une quantité bien plus grande que ne pouvait justifier la présence d’une minorité d’Irlandais dans la salle. En effet, une des plus importantes caractéristiques du music-hall est que ses chansons doivent s’adresser à la grande majorité de la salle : afin de faire chanter le refrain à tout le monde, on ne peut pas s’embarrasser d’intérêts minoritaires. Ainsi, les chansons sur l’Irlande et les Irlandais devaient avoir une signification ou des significations pour l’ensemble du public.
Je n’avais pas la place au sein de mon livre pour explorer cette question autant que je l’aurais voulu, alors j’ai décidé de consacrer une communication, et ensuite un article, à ce sujet, tout en élargissant considérablement la période étudiée aux vingt premières années du XXe siècle. J’ai pu ainsi accéder à un échantillon bien plus large. Il existe peu d’ouvrages détaillés sur les attitudes populaires envers l’Irlande et les Irlandais à cette époque, et il me semble que les chansons de music-hall représentent une nouvelle source d’une certaine importance pour l’étude des attitudes des milieux populaires édouardiens.
Les chansons contiennent les stéréotypes racistes classiques de l’Irlandais idiot et de l’Irlandais enfant. Cependant, un nombre bien plus grand de chansons se concentrait sur la vision de l’Irlande comme paradis rural, ou sur une communauté irlandaise présentée comme soudée et fière, peut-être même à envier.
Je n’avais pas la place au sein de mon livre pour explorer cette question autant que je l’aurais voulu, alors j’ai décidé de consacrer une communication, et ensuite un article, à ce sujet, tout en élargissant considérablement la période étudiée aux vingt premières années du XXe siècle. J’ai pu ainsi accéder à un échantillon bien plus large. Il existe peu d’ouvrages détaillés sur les attitudes populaires envers l’Irlande et les Irlandais à cette époque, et il me semble que les chansons de music-hall représentent une nouvelle source d’une certaine importance pour l’étude des attitudes des milieux populaires édouardiens.
Les chansons contiennent les stéréotypes racistes classiques de l’Irlandais idiot et de l’Irlandais enfant. Cependant, un nombre bien plus grand de chansons se concentrait sur la vision de l’Irlande comme paradis rural, ou sur une communauté irlandaise présentée comme soudée et fière, peut-être même à envier.
Research Interests:
Cette contribution examine le rôle des femmes dans un syndicat d'employés de la fonction publique.
Research Interests:
"MOTS CLES didactique, anglais de spécialité, anglais professionnel, simulation, étude de cas, conception de programme, motivation Dans le cadre d'un compte-rendu d'une expérience pédagogique menée dans de grandes entreprises de la... more
"MOTS CLES didactique, anglais de spécialité, anglais professionnel, simulation, étude de cas, conception de programme, motivation
Dans le cadre d'un compte-rendu d'une expérience pédagogique menée dans de grandes entreprises de la région parisienne, cet article vise à décrire et évaluer une pédagogie basée sur la simulation des tâches professionnelles dans les cours d'anglais. Le but avoué est d'enseigner plus précisément ce dont les stagiaires ont besoin dans leur vie professionnelle, mais aussi d'utiliser l'expérience que le stagiaire possède de son métier à des fins pédagogiques. Nous regarderons les effets de la méthodologie sur la motivation des stagiaires et sur les rapports entre stagiaire et enseignant. Développées pour servir en entreprise, ces méthodes peuvent avoir une application utile en formation initiale.
KEY WORDS pedagogy, ESP Professional English, Case study, syllabus development, motivation.
Through a description and evaluation of pedagogical experiments carried out in companies in the Paris region, this article attemtps to looks at a pedagogical approach based on the simulation of professional tasks in the language classroom. The stated aim is to teach pupils precisely the language skills they need in their professional situation, and to make use of the pupils' knowledge and experience of their job inside the language classroom. We will examine the effects of such a methodology on trainee motivation and on the teacher-pupil relationship. Though developed for the purposes of in-company training, these methods can also be usefully applied to higher education situations. "
Dans le cadre d'un compte-rendu d'une expérience pédagogique menée dans de grandes entreprises de la région parisienne, cet article vise à décrire et évaluer une pédagogie basée sur la simulation des tâches professionnelles dans les cours d'anglais. Le but avoué est d'enseigner plus précisément ce dont les stagiaires ont besoin dans leur vie professionnelle, mais aussi d'utiliser l'expérience que le stagiaire possède de son métier à des fins pédagogiques. Nous regarderons les effets de la méthodologie sur la motivation des stagiaires et sur les rapports entre stagiaire et enseignant. Développées pour servir en entreprise, ces méthodes peuvent avoir une application utile en formation initiale.
KEY WORDS pedagogy, ESP Professional English, Case study, syllabus development, motivation.
Through a description and evaluation of pedagogical experiments carried out in companies in the Paris region, this article attemtps to looks at a pedagogical approach based on the simulation of professional tasks in the language classroom. The stated aim is to teach pupils precisely the language skills they need in their professional situation, and to make use of the pupils' knowledge and experience of their job inside the language classroom. We will examine the effects of such a methodology on trainee motivation and on the teacher-pupil relationship. Though developed for the purposes of in-company training, these methods can also be usefully applied to higher education situations. "
Research Interests:
Résumé On a souvent suggéré que l’anglais international des affaires est d’une nature simplifiée, et s’est séparé de ses racines culturelles. Pourtant, dans les discussions stratégiques pour les hommes d’affaires dans The Economist,... more
Résumé
On a souvent suggéré que l’anglais international des affaires est d’une nature simplifiée, et s’est séparé de ses racines culturelles. Pourtant, dans les discussions stratégiques pour les hommes d’affaires dans The Economist, nous avons remarqué une complexité lexicale très marquée. Notre article examine les choix lexicaux dans les editoriaux de cette revue, et propose des explications possibles dans des termes de légitimation d’un discours.
Summary
It has often been suggested that international business English is simplified English, and/or that international business English is bound to lose its cultural roots altogether. Yet in the strategy discussions of The Economist, a high level of lexical complexity is found. This paper examines the choice of vocabulary in the Economist editorial and proposes explanations for their choices in terms of the need to legitimize their position and discourse.
Key words: International business English, lexis, journalism, style, babu, referee design, in-group.
Mots clé : Anglais des affaires, anglais international, journalisme, style, analyse de discours, babu, conception d'arbitre, élite.
On a souvent suggéré que l’anglais international des affaires est d’une nature simplifiée, et s’est séparé de ses racines culturelles. Pourtant, dans les discussions stratégiques pour les hommes d’affaires dans The Economist, nous avons remarqué une complexité lexicale très marquée. Notre article examine les choix lexicaux dans les editoriaux de cette revue, et propose des explications possibles dans des termes de légitimation d’un discours.
Summary
It has often been suggested that international business English is simplified English, and/or that international business English is bound to lose its cultural roots altogether. Yet in the strategy discussions of The Economist, a high level of lexical complexity is found. This paper examines the choice of vocabulary in the Economist editorial and proposes explanations for their choices in terms of the need to legitimize their position and discourse.
Key words: International business English, lexis, journalism, style, babu, referee design, in-group.
Mots clé : Anglais des affaires, anglais international, journalisme, style, analyse de discours, babu, conception d'arbitre, élite.
Research Interests:
Cuisenaire rods are a remarkably versatile teaching aid and can be used to help teach almost any aspect of the language. In this article I attempt to analyse and categorise the different types of use which are possible and also to... more
Cuisenaire rods are a remarkably versatile teaching aid and can be used to help teach almost any aspect of the language. In this article I attempt to analyse and categorise the different types of use which are possible and also to emphasise some of the advantages of this teaching aid, drawing on my experience in teaching English for Specific Purposes. Subjects covered include the teaching of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Résumé Les bâtonnets cuisenaire en classe de langue Les bâtonnets Cuisenaire sont un outil pédagogique d'une polyvalence impressionnante, et ils peuvent être adaptés pour faciliter l'enseignement de maints aspects de la langue. Cet article s'efforce de mettre en place une catégorisation des emplois possibles et d'énumérer certains des points forts de cet outil, à partir d'une expérience d'enseignement en anglais de spécialité. Les sujets traités comprennent l'enseignement de la grammaire, du vocabulaire et de la prononciation.
Research Interests:
Le festival de Notting Hill, cet événement culturel de masse de musique et de danse antillaise a fêté récemment ses quarante ans. Il a contribué à une certaine image de l’Angleterre comme un pays où l’identité culturelle de groupes... more
Le festival de Notting Hill, cet événement culturel de masse de musique et de danse antillaise a fêté récemment ses quarante ans. Il a contribué à une certaine image de l’Angleterre comme un pays où l’identité culturelle de groupes immigrés peut être publiquement revendiquée. Il est même devenu un symbole du “multiculturalisme”.
Simple divertissement, retour aux racines, récupération commerciale et étatique de l’identité immigrée ... le festival a fait l’objet d’interprétations très diverses. L’étude de son histoire permet d’éclaircir sa signification.
Dans les années soixante, la grande difficulté de sa mise en oeuvre laissait apercevoir un réel rejet des Antillais par une partie de la population blanche. Dix ans plus tard, les tentatives d’interdire le carnaval, et les conflits violents entre police et participants, faisaient couler beaucoup d’encre. Mais aujourd’hui il bénéficie d’une participation beaucoup plus forte des pouvoirs publics dans l’organisation et le financement du carnaval, et d’une réelle banalisation du festival - il est par exemple intégré dans les programmes scolaires.
Les Melas, qui fleurissent depuis un peu plus de dix ans en Angleterre et dont on dénombre une bonne quarantaine à travers le pays chaque année, sont des festivals de musique et de danse indo-pakistanaise (on dit en Angleterre « Asian music »). Ces festivals servent d’expression de l’identité d’une population d’origine indo-pakistanaise encore cible du racisme. Là encore, l’attitude des autorités, et les revendications explicites et implicites des artistes et des organisateurs nous permettent de mieux comprendre les festivals en tant que réactions au racisme ambiant.
Notre intervention vise à explorer, en comparant ces deux exemples certaines des problématiques d’expression d’identité immigrée en Angleterre aujourd’hui.
Simple divertissement, retour aux racines, récupération commerciale et étatique de l’identité immigrée ... le festival a fait l’objet d’interprétations très diverses. L’étude de son histoire permet d’éclaircir sa signification.
Dans les années soixante, la grande difficulté de sa mise en oeuvre laissait apercevoir un réel rejet des Antillais par une partie de la population blanche. Dix ans plus tard, les tentatives d’interdire le carnaval, et les conflits violents entre police et participants, faisaient couler beaucoup d’encre. Mais aujourd’hui il bénéficie d’une participation beaucoup plus forte des pouvoirs publics dans l’organisation et le financement du carnaval, et d’une réelle banalisation du festival - il est par exemple intégré dans les programmes scolaires.
Les Melas, qui fleurissent depuis un peu plus de dix ans en Angleterre et dont on dénombre une bonne quarantaine à travers le pays chaque année, sont des festivals de musique et de danse indo-pakistanaise (on dit en Angleterre « Asian music »). Ces festivals servent d’expression de l’identité d’une population d’origine indo-pakistanaise encore cible du racisme. Là encore, l’attitude des autorités, et les revendications explicites et implicites des artistes et des organisateurs nous permettent de mieux comprendre les festivals en tant que réactions au racisme ambiant.
Notre intervention vise à explorer, en comparant ces deux exemples certaines des problématiques d’expression d’identité immigrée en Angleterre aujourd’hui.
Research Interests:
Dans les circonstances les plus terribles, les êtres humains réussissent à se divertir. En 1916, le music-hall vivait de beaux jours. Pas encore sérieusement concurrencé, ni par le gramophone, ni par la radio, le music-hall dominait... more
Dans les circonstances les plus terribles, les êtres humains réussissent à se divertir. En 1916, le music-hall vivait de beaux jours. Pas encore sérieusement concurrencé, ni par le gramophone, ni par la radio, le music-hall dominait absolument et constituait une véritable industrie.
Notre contribution vise à explorer la chanson de cette année tragique : les stars et les tubes de 1916. De la chanson de propagande à la chanson d’amour, dans les salles de spectacle ou dans les tranchées, nous verrons comment la guerre a laissé sa marque.
Notre contribution vise à explorer la chanson de cette année tragique : les stars et les tubes de 1916. De la chanson de propagande à la chanson d’amour, dans les salles de spectacle ou dans les tranchées, nous verrons comment la guerre a laissé sa marque.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Debate continues about the relationship of music hall culture to the working class. Some emphasize the working class themes of the songs, and the working class origins of the stars. Others consider the role of music hall to be that of a... more
Debate continues about the relationship of music hall culture to the working class. Some emphasize the working class themes of the songs, and the working class origins of the stars. Others consider the role of music hall to be that of a “culture of consolation” imposed on workers from above. Writings on the music hall strike in London in 1907 have often been limited to biographical anecdotes on the role of the stars in the dispute. Our article aims at using the reporting on the strike to examine the situation “behind the scenes” among this rather special group of wage-workers – working conditions and methods of organizing. In particular we will see how the strike contained most of the elements of a classic struggle between workers and their employers, and was treated as such by both sides in the conflict.
Research Interests:
La campagne contre "la vulgarité" dans les music halls britanniques (1880-1930). Lorsque une musique ou des chansons produites par la jeunesse ou par une autre minorité sont rejetées en tant que “sauvages”, le souci du contrôle social et... more
La campagne contre "la vulgarité" dans les music halls britanniques (1880-1930).
Lorsque une musique ou des chansons produites par la jeunesse ou par une autre minorité sont rejetées en tant que “sauvages”, le souci du contrôle social et idéologique de la majorité ne se trouve pas bien loin. En caractérisant les productions de sauvages, on suggère qu’elles incarnent des valeurs, des priorités, des pratiques, des négligences qu’on ne voudrait pas voir envahir la société « civilisée ». De telles conceptions bénéficient d’une diffusion au sein de la société et participent souvent à une conversation nationale, voire à une véritable panique morale.
Ces rejets, souvent racialisés, ont d’importants antécédents lors de la construction du goût acceptable dans la chanson du music hall au cours de sa période classique (1880-1930). La longue campagne, au Royaume Uni, contre la « vulgarité » sur scène et en faveur de la « respectabilité » en constitue une première manifestation.
Mon intervention vise à expliquer les mécanismes de cette campagne, dans le contexte idéologique britannique bien particulier de la fin du XIXe siècle et les débuts du XXe. « La vulgarité » était généralement rejetée sans que le concept soit clairement défini, et le manque de précision rend une obsession nationale plus aisée à mettre en place.
Je tenterai d’explorer le succès considérable de la campagne, et la manière dont des résistances artistiques se sont comportées, défendant une transgression modérée qui restera importante dans la chanson populaire jusqu’à nos jours. Mon travail se basera avant tout sur la presse spécialisée du music hall de l’époque (The Era et The Encore, hebdomadaires du secteur et The Performer, hebdomadaire du syndicat des artistes).
Lorsque une musique ou des chansons produites par la jeunesse ou par une autre minorité sont rejetées en tant que “sauvages”, le souci du contrôle social et idéologique de la majorité ne se trouve pas bien loin. En caractérisant les productions de sauvages, on suggère qu’elles incarnent des valeurs, des priorités, des pratiques, des négligences qu’on ne voudrait pas voir envahir la société « civilisée ». De telles conceptions bénéficient d’une diffusion au sein de la société et participent souvent à une conversation nationale, voire à une véritable panique morale.
Ces rejets, souvent racialisés, ont d’importants antécédents lors de la construction du goût acceptable dans la chanson du music hall au cours de sa période classique (1880-1930). La longue campagne, au Royaume Uni, contre la « vulgarité » sur scène et en faveur de la « respectabilité » en constitue une première manifestation.
Mon intervention vise à expliquer les mécanismes de cette campagne, dans le contexte idéologique britannique bien particulier de la fin du XIXe siècle et les débuts du XXe. « La vulgarité » était généralement rejetée sans que le concept soit clairement défini, et le manque de précision rend une obsession nationale plus aisée à mettre en place.
Je tenterai d’explorer le succès considérable de la campagne, et la manière dont des résistances artistiques se sont comportées, défendant une transgression modérée qui restera importante dans la chanson populaire jusqu’à nos jours. Mon travail se basera avant tout sur la presse spécialisée du music hall de l’époque (The Era et The Encore, hebdomadaires du secteur et The Performer, hebdomadaire du syndicat des artistes).
Research Interests:
De quoi Boris Johnson est-il le nom? La division leavers/remainers va-t-elle perdurer? Quel avenir est promis au parti conservateur et au parti travailliste. Ces questions, et bien d'autres! Vous trouverez dans ce document le lien... more
De quoi Boris Johnson est-il le nom?
La division leavers/remainers va-t-elle perdurer?
Quel avenir est promis au parti conservateur et au parti travailliste. Ces questions, et bien d'autres!
Vous trouverez dans ce document le lien l'enregistrement MP3 de mon intervention lors du séminaire Eriac à l'Université de Rouen-Normandie du 22 octobre 2019. Et le lien pour télécharger le PowerPoint qui illustrait mes propos.
La division leavers/remainers va-t-elle perdurer?
Quel avenir est promis au parti conservateur et au parti travailliste. Ces questions, et bien d'autres!
Vous trouverez dans ce document le lien l'enregistrement MP3 de mon intervention lors du séminaire Eriac à l'Université de Rouen-Normandie du 22 octobre 2019. Et le lien pour télécharger le PowerPoint qui illustrait mes propos.
Research Interests: European Studies, International Relations, Labour Party (UK), Foreign Policy Analysis, British Politics, and 14 morePolitical Science, Politics, European Union, Conservative Party, European Union Politics, UKIP, Sciences Politiques, Histoire contemporaine, Union européenne, Relations Internationales, Boris Johnson, Brexit, Brexit UK, and Brexit 2016
Philip Tagg has insisted that popular music needs more study from the point of view of the listener. Lawrence Grossberg maintains that in « affective alliances », listeners organize imaginary communities through musical tastes. Allan... more
Philip Tagg has insisted that popular music needs more study from the point of view of the listener. Lawrence Grossberg maintains that in « affective alliances », listeners organize imaginary communities through musical tastes. Allan Moore has examined the different imaginary positions the listener takes up in relation to the narration in a song. Claude Chastagner has emphasized the importance of the slogan (« pretty vacant ! » for example) in rock music. And the present author has looked at political song and how it might be appropriated affectively within the experience of listening to individual songs. This paper aims at looking more closely at what happens when we listen, hum along, or sing along to a popular song. What is the affective and communicational status of the singalong punk refrain « God save the Queen ! » or the Springsteen chorus « Everybody's got a hungry heart » ? How does it compare with mantra or prayer ? Who are we adressing when we sing the chorus ? I will look at song from the point of view of role play, as a way of briefly imagining ourselves to be someone else, using singalong extracts from concerts to illustrate.
Research Interests:
This is a talk I gave in Toulon in March 2019. Underground music, underground cinema, underground hip hop culture, underground scene … the idea of “underground” originally connected to clandestine resistance networks under oppressive... more
This is a talk I gave in Toulon in March 2019. Underground music, underground cinema, underground hip hop culture, underground scene … the idea of “underground” originally connected to clandestine resistance networks under oppressive regimes, has frequently been linked to different activities of cultural production. Often claimed by practitioners themselves as a badge of honour, or a sign that they have managed to partially break free from market forces, it contrasts with the label “mainstream” usually attributed from the outside, or left unsaid. Mainstream cinema, mainstream contemporary art, and so on.
Research Interests:
This is a video of a talk I gave in Athens in November 2018, at the conference "The birth of contemporary Europe: World War I, Music and the Arts" 9-11 November 2018
Research Interests:
Abstract, slide show and audio from the talk I gave at 11th Annual Meeting of the AG Populärkultur und Medien
Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft (GfM), Passau, 14-16 February 2019.
Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft (GfM), Passau, 14-16 February 2019.
Research Interests:
Mon intervention lors de la Journée d'Etudes "Images et Représentation de la Première Guerre Mondiale", à Rouen le 6 novembre 2018
Research Interests:
"Chanter ensemble au concert et ailleurs : le sens de l'expression collective" Intervention lors du colloque « Comment la chanson populaire communique-t-elle ? » le 15-16 novembre 2018 à Rouen Abstract : Philip Tagg a insisté que la... more
"Chanter ensemble au concert et ailleurs : le sens de l'expression collective"
Intervention lors du colloque « Comment la chanson populaire communique-t-elle ? » le 15-16 novembre 2018 à Rouen
Abstract : Philip Tagg a insisté que la chanson devrait être davantage étudiée du point de vue de celui ou celle qui l'écoute. Lawrence Grossberg déclare que nous construisons des « affective alliances », des communautés imaginaires structurées autour de goûts musicaux. Allan Moore a examiné les divers positionnements possibles de l'auditeur par rapport à la narration portée par une chanson. Claude Chastagner a souligné l'importance du slogan dans le plaisir du rock. Et l'auteur de la présente proposition a analysé la chanson politique et comment elle peut être appropriée par l'auditeur dans le cas de chansons précises.
Intervention lors du colloque « Comment la chanson populaire communique-t-elle ? » le 15-16 novembre 2018 à Rouen
Abstract : Philip Tagg a insisté que la chanson devrait être davantage étudiée du point de vue de celui ou celle qui l'écoute. Lawrence Grossberg déclare que nous construisons des « affective alliances », des communautés imaginaires structurées autour de goûts musicaux. Allan Moore a examiné les divers positionnements possibles de l'auditeur par rapport à la narration portée par une chanson. Claude Chastagner a souligné l'importance du slogan dans le plaisir du rock. Et l'auteur de la présente proposition a analysé la chanson politique et comment elle peut être appropriée par l'auditeur dans le cas de chansons précises.
Research Interests:
This is a talk I gave (in English) at the annual conference of the German Association for Research in Music, which was held in Osnabrück in September 2018. You will find below an abstract, and a link to the lecture in MP3 format. Link to... more
This is a talk I gave (in English) at the annual conference of the German Association for Research in Music, which was held in Osnabrück in September 2018. You will find below an abstract, and a link to the lecture in MP3 format.
Link to talk here :
http://www.jcmullen.fr/osnabruckfinal.mp3
Abstract :
The Uses of Wartime Popular Song in Britain, 1914-1918.
John Mullen
First World War popular song has been praised in Britain for keeping up « morale » and helping the war drive, or criticized for glorifying war and empire. Yet almost all the songs lie forgotten in archives, and the reputation of wartime song was forged with little reference to the variety of repertoire and process in the thousands of songs released. Based on my research on 1200 wartime songs, this contribution aims at exploring the question of the usefulness of the songs in the often harsh lives of their audiences. Patriotic songs and racist songs, songs about food and lost rural paradises, dissenting songs and suggestive songs, will all be surveyed. The thesis I am defending is that popular song does not just reflect or illustrate history, but constitutes a series of mass activities which are very much a part of history.
Historians, in my view, can be best defined by the questions they decide to ask. My approach to popular song is to maintain that it does not illustrate history with a capital H, history which happens elsewhere in muddy trenches or oak-panelled offices. Popular song rather constitutes a series of mass activities which are part of history just as much as other activities such as working or fighting.
This is the reason for the title of my talk : « the uses of British wartime song ». The question positions popular song as a material activity, and not as an expression of « national spirit » or of the « zeitgeist », nor as only a particular stage in the artistic development of a musical genre.
Link to talk here :
http://www.jcmullen.fr/osnabruckfinal.mp3
Abstract :
The Uses of Wartime Popular Song in Britain, 1914-1918.
John Mullen
First World War popular song has been praised in Britain for keeping up « morale » and helping the war drive, or criticized for glorifying war and empire. Yet almost all the songs lie forgotten in archives, and the reputation of wartime song was forged with little reference to the variety of repertoire and process in the thousands of songs released. Based on my research on 1200 wartime songs, this contribution aims at exploring the question of the usefulness of the songs in the often harsh lives of their audiences. Patriotic songs and racist songs, songs about food and lost rural paradises, dissenting songs and suggestive songs, will all be surveyed. The thesis I am defending is that popular song does not just reflect or illustrate history, but constitutes a series of mass activities which are very much a part of history.
Historians, in my view, can be best defined by the questions they decide to ask. My approach to popular song is to maintain that it does not illustrate history with a capital H, history which happens elsewhere in muddy trenches or oak-panelled offices. Popular song rather constitutes a series of mass activities which are part of history just as much as other activities such as working or fighting.
This is the reason for the title of my talk : « the uses of British wartime song ». The question positions popular song as a material activity, and not as an expression of « national spirit » or of the « zeitgeist », nor as only a particular stage in the artistic development of a musical genre.
Research Interests:
France is filled with commemorations of 1968, often by establishment organizations. How can a general strike be commemorated in this way ? This lecture, given for a group of students visiting from the United Arab Emirates, looks at what... more
France is filled with commemorations of 1968, often by establishment organizations. How can a general strike be commemorated in this way ? This lecture, given for a group of students visiting from the United Arab Emirates, looks at what really happened, and opens up a series of important questions, which we don’t always have answers for. Why did workers support the students ? Why wasn’t there a civil war ? Why was Gaullism able to regain control of the situation ? What did workers and students win ? Why didn’t it go further ?
Research Interests:
Intervention au séminaire Eriac à l'Université de Rouen-Normandie 5 avril 2018. MP3 et powerpoint.
Research Interests:
Until recently, historians had worked little on popular song in World War One. When mentioned in general or Home Front histories, it tended to be seen only through the prism of military or civilian morale or fighting spirit. My work and... more
Until recently, historians had worked little on popular song in World War One. When mentioned in general or Home Front histories, it tended to be seen only through the prism of military or civilian morale or fighting spirit. My work and that of my colleagues in the last few years, often based on relatively large corpora of several hundred popular songs in each country, has aimed at looking deeper at what song meant in popular culture and lived experience at this time.
Research Interests:
Intervention au séminaire GRER (Groupe de recherche sur l'eugénisme et le racisme) Novembre 2017, Université de Paris 7. Cette intervention esquisse une analyse de l'effet politique des chansons antiracistes sur les individus qui les... more
Intervention au séminaire GRER (Groupe de recherche sur l'eugénisme et le racisme) Novembre 2017, Université de Paris 7. Cette intervention esquisse une analyse de l'effet politique des chansons antiracistes sur les individus qui les écoutent. Elle se base sur un échantillon de 70 chansons britanniques des cinquante dernières années qui traitent de la question du racisme d'une manière ou d'une autre (échantillon que vous trouverez ci-dessous). Nous nous intéressons particulièrement à l'identification que la chanson demande à celui qui écoute ou qui chante en même temps que l'artiste. Quel rôle nous demande-t-on d'incarner, et comment ce rôle interagit avec nos positionnements politiques ? Vous pouvez écouter l'intervention ici : http://www.jcmullen.fr/GRERTALK1117.mp3 Il est prévu de publier cette intervention en 2018.
Research Interests:
Intervention lors de la journée d'études sur Facebook, débat et militantisme. On peut regarder le vidéo ici https://webtv.univ-rouen.fr/videos/20-10-2017-4-intervention-de-john-mullen_00029/
Research Interests:
This is a presentation of a modest survey of 60 left activists, their opinions about Facebook and their uses of Facebook. It was given at a day conference in Rouen in October 2017. Ceci est une présentation d'une enquête sur les... more
This is a presentation of a modest survey of 60 left activists, their opinions about Facebook and their uses of Facebook. It was given at a day conference in Rouen in October 2017.
Ceci est une présentation d'une enquête sur les militants de gauche et Facebook, qui a été préparée pour une journeé d'étude à l'université de Rouen en octobre 2017.
Ceci est une présentation d'une enquête sur les militants de gauche et Facebook, qui a été préparée pour une journeé d'étude à l'université de Rouen en octobre 2017.
Research Interests:
[Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour pouvoir voir la video] Un an après le référendum britannique, où en est la gauche britannique sur cette questions? Mon intervention trace l'histoire de la gauche britannique dans les débats de 1975 et... more
[Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour pouvoir voir la video] Un an après le référendum britannique, où en est la gauche britannique sur cette questions? Mon intervention trace l'histoire de la gauche britannique dans les débats de 1975 et de 2015 et présente les résultats d'un sondage parmi les militants de la gauche britannique, divisés sur la question de l'union européenne.
[Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour voir la vidéo]
[Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour voir la vidéo]
Research Interests:
Click on the jcmullen.fr for the MP3 Popular Music Studies has often concentrated on music since 1945, and a wide range of tools and concepts have been developed to aid in the analysis of text, music, production, reception, performance,... more
Click on the jcmullen.fr for the MP3
Popular Music Studies has often concentrated on music since 1945, and a wide range of tools and concepts have been developed to aid in the analysis of text, music, production, reception, performance, scene or star. How far can these approaches also be applied to the commercial musical practice of earlier times? This paper will look at my own specialized field: music hall from 1880 to 1918, mostly in Britain but also elsewhere, and particularly at the First World War period. It will examine the work which has been done on musical repertoires, industrial processes and ideological constraints, and compare and contrast this work with various Popular Music Studies approaches. The limits of our sources, and differences in the nature of the musical material will be examined. In addition, the similarities and differences between the study of songs and of other objects of cultural history from the same period will be examined. Finally, the question of how to study long-term changes in popular music, and how the history of popular music can be reintegrated into more general histories of society will be discussed.
Click on the jcmullen.fr link for the MP3
Popular Music Studies has often concentrated on music since 1945, and a wide range of tools and concepts have been developed to aid in the analysis of text, music, production, reception, performance, scene or star. How far can these approaches also be applied to the commercial musical practice of earlier times? This paper will look at my own specialized field: music hall from 1880 to 1918, mostly in Britain but also elsewhere, and particularly at the First World War period. It will examine the work which has been done on musical repertoires, industrial processes and ideological constraints, and compare and contrast this work with various Popular Music Studies approaches. The limits of our sources, and differences in the nature of the musical material will be examined. In addition, the similarities and differences between the study of songs and of other objects of cultural history from the same period will be examined. Finally, the question of how to study long-term changes in popular music, and how the history of popular music can be reintegrated into more general histories of society will be discussed.
Click on the jcmullen.fr link for the MP3
Research Interests:
Cliquer sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour le fichier mp3 Comment comprendre la décision du peuple britannique lors du référendum de juin 2016 ? Quelle est l’histoire des rapports entre le Royaume-Uni et la construction européenne depuis 50... more
Cliquer sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour le fichier mp3
Comment comprendre la décision du peuple britannique lors du référendum de juin 2016 ? Quelle est l’histoire des rapports entre le Royaume-Uni et la construction européenne depuis 50 ans ? Quels arguments ont été utilisés – à droite et à gauche – pour sortir de l’Union européenne ? Et quels sont les contours de la crise politique profonde qui surgit de cette décision historique ?
Cette conférence de John Mullen de 1h45, devant un public d’étudiants universitaires rend tout ceci compréhensible.
Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour le fichier MP3.
Comment comprendre la décision du peuple britannique lors du référendum de juin 2016 ? Quelle est l’histoire des rapports entre le Royaume-Uni et la construction européenne depuis 50 ans ? Quels arguments ont été utilisés – à droite et à gauche – pour sortir de l’Union européenne ? Et quels sont les contours de la crise politique profonde qui surgit de cette décision historique ?
Cette conférence de John Mullen de 1h45, devant un public d’étudiants universitaires rend tout ceci compréhensible.
Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour le fichier MP3.
Research Interests:
Intervention pour journée d’étude Du manque de discipline des musiques populaires Journée d’étude de l’IASPM Branche francophone d’Europe du 15 octobre 2016 Université de Strasbourg Histoire de la musique populaire et histoire... more
Intervention pour journée d’étude
Du manque de discipline des musiques populaires
Journée d’étude de l’IASPM Branche francophone d’Europe du 15 octobre 2016
Université de Strasbourg
Histoire de la musique populaire et histoire culturelle
John Mullen, Professeur ce civilisation britannique, Université de Rouen, Equipe ERIAC
Les études des musiques populaires ont trouvé leurs outils dans de nombreux domaines disciplinaires, de la musicologie à la sociologie, en passant par la sémiotique, l’analyse littéraire ou l’anthropologie. Dans cette intervention je propose de revenir, d’un point de vue méthodologique sur mes recherches concernant les chansons populaires de la Première Guerre mondiale, afin de cerner ce que l’étude de ces chansons aurait de spécifique ou de particulier comparé à d’autres travaux de l’histoire culturelle visant la même période. En comparant mon travail aux études qui ont été faites sur les courriers, les cartes postales et les monuments en lien avec la Première Guerre, je compte répondre à la question : une histoire culturelle typique, ou exceptionnelle ?
Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour écouter le MP3.
Du manque de discipline des musiques populaires
Journée d’étude de l’IASPM Branche francophone d’Europe du 15 octobre 2016
Université de Strasbourg
Histoire de la musique populaire et histoire culturelle
John Mullen, Professeur ce civilisation britannique, Université de Rouen, Equipe ERIAC
Les études des musiques populaires ont trouvé leurs outils dans de nombreux domaines disciplinaires, de la musicologie à la sociologie, en passant par la sémiotique, l’analyse littéraire ou l’anthropologie. Dans cette intervention je propose de revenir, d’un point de vue méthodologique sur mes recherches concernant les chansons populaires de la Première Guerre mondiale, afin de cerner ce que l’étude de ces chansons aurait de spécifique ou de particulier comparé à d’autres travaux de l’histoire culturelle visant la même période. En comparant mon travail aux études qui ont été faites sur les courriers, les cartes postales et les monuments en lien avec la Première Guerre, je compte répondre à la question : une histoire culturelle typique, ou exceptionnelle ?
Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour écouter le MP3.
Research Interests:
Contribution to conference "La chanson hispanique".
Research Interests:
[Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to have access to full paper] Why Singalong? The meanings and uses of the singalong chorus in First World war music hall. The experience of group singing of a refrain was so central to the music hall... more
[Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to have access to full paper] Why Singalong? The meanings and uses of the singalong chorus in First World war music hall.
The experience of group singing of a refrain was so central to the music hall experience that the songs were often referred to by non music-hall people simply as “chorus songs”. However, the exact contours of this kind of performance have been little studied, and such study is hindered by the fact that all recordings of the time are studio recordings, where audience singalong is not heard. In addition, textual analysis of a large corpus of music hall songs has been almost completely neglected.
My contribution, following on from my recently published full-length study on music hall song, aims at exploring the reasons for the sing-along chorus, the different ways that the chorus could be used, and some of its ambiguities. It will be based on a corpus of a few dozen hit songs from the war years. It will show that the choice to place certain sentiments in the refrain rather than in the verses is not neutral, that the centrality of live music in a pre-radio context has an enormous influence, and that the musical structure of the chorus can sometimes make more complex the sentiments being sung. “Patriotic” refrains, “war-weary” refrains and “escapist” refrains will all be examined, in addition to “anxious” refrains which comment on the enormous social changes going on at the time.
[Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to have access to full paper]
The experience of group singing of a refrain was so central to the music hall experience that the songs were often referred to by non music-hall people simply as “chorus songs”. However, the exact contours of this kind of performance have been little studied, and such study is hindered by the fact that all recordings of the time are studio recordings, where audience singalong is not heard. In addition, textual analysis of a large corpus of music hall songs has been almost completely neglected.
My contribution, following on from my recently published full-length study on music hall song, aims at exploring the reasons for the sing-along chorus, the different ways that the chorus could be used, and some of its ambiguities. It will be based on a corpus of a few dozen hit songs from the war years. It will show that the choice to place certain sentiments in the refrain rather than in the verses is not neutral, that the centrality of live music in a pre-radio context has an enormous influence, and that the musical structure of the chorus can sometimes make more complex the sentiments being sung. “Patriotic” refrains, “war-weary” refrains and “escapist” refrains will all be examined, in addition to “anxious” refrains which comment on the enormous social changes going on at the time.
[Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to have access to full paper]
Research Interests:
Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to hear the talk. Five Leaves bookshop in Nottingham, UK, kindly invited me to speak about my book in their shop. The talk goes through some of the main questions on popular song of the period : Who... more
Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to hear the talk. Five Leaves bookshop in Nottingham, UK, kindly invited me to speak about my book in their shop.
The talk goes through some of the main questions on popular song of the period : Who were the main actors – who was making a living or making a profit ? What were the main products being sold ? What themes were present and what did these themes signify at the time ? How were men,women and love represented ? How did the war transform popular song, and what stayed the same ?
Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to hear the talk.
The talk goes through some of the main questions on popular song of the period : Who were the main actors – who was making a living or making a profit ? What were the main products being sold ? What themes were present and what did these themes signify at the time ? How were men,women and love represented ? How did the war transform popular song, and what stayed the same ?
Click on the jcmullen.fr link above to hear the talk.
Research Interests:
This talk was given in January 2016 at a conference in Glasgow Working in Music: The Musicians’ Union, musical labour and employment. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, 14 and 15 January 2016. The abstract of the paper is below, and you can... more
This talk was given in January 2016 at a conference in Glasgow
Working in Music: The Musicians’ Union, musical labour and employment. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, 14 and 15 January 2016.
The abstract of the paper is below, and
you can listen to the MP3 recording here
http://www.jcmullen.fr/glasgow.mp3
And see the powerpoint here
http://www.jcmullen.fr/Glasgow.pps
Music hall and trade unionism during world war one
Singers and musicians in the union journal “The Performer” 1914-1918
John Mullen, Université de Rouen
“The Performer” was the union journal of the Variety Artistes Federation, which was set up in 1906. The VAF represented many different types of performers, but singers and musical performers were an important proportion: no doubt a third of the members were singers. The singers and musicians in the VAF generally travelled from town to town following their bookings, an individualist lifestyle which distinguished them from the majority of musicians, who were employed in house orchestras of music halls or cinemas.
My article using the union journal from the war years and in particular its cartoons aims at analyzing union activity in these years. What ideas were prioritized : patriotism, mutual help, union discipline, respectability, strikes, workers’ solidarity ?
Dr John Mullen is Professor at the University of Rouen in France. He has published widely on the history of popular music. His full length study The Show Must Go On: Popular Song in Britain during the First World War was published by Ashgate in August 2015 as part of the Ashgate Popular and Folk Music series.
Working in Music: The Musicians’ Union, musical labour and employment. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, 14 and 15 January 2016.
The abstract of the paper is below, and
you can listen to the MP3 recording here
http://www.jcmullen.fr/glasgow.mp3
And see the powerpoint here
http://www.jcmullen.fr/Glasgow.pps
Music hall and trade unionism during world war one
Singers and musicians in the union journal “The Performer” 1914-1918
John Mullen, Université de Rouen
“The Performer” was the union journal of the Variety Artistes Federation, which was set up in 1906. The VAF represented many different types of performers, but singers and musical performers were an important proportion: no doubt a third of the members were singers. The singers and musicians in the VAF generally travelled from town to town following their bookings, an individualist lifestyle which distinguished them from the majority of musicians, who were employed in house orchestras of music halls or cinemas.
My article using the union journal from the war years and in particular its cartoons aims at analyzing union activity in these years. What ideas were prioritized : patriotism, mutual help, union discipline, respectability, strikes, workers’ solidarity ?
Dr John Mullen is Professor at the University of Rouen in France. He has published widely on the history of popular music. His full length study The Show Must Go On: Popular Song in Britain during the First World War was published by Ashgate in August 2015 as part of the Ashgate Popular and Folk Music series.
Research Interests:
Cette conférence examine la musique populaire britannique et ses liens avec la diversité culturelle et l’antiracisme. Tout d’abord, les festivals, tels que le festival de Notting Hill et les Melas indo-pakistanais au Royaume-Uni sont... more
Cette conférence examine la musique populaire britannique et ses liens avec la diversité culturelle et l’antiracisme. Tout d’abord, les festivals, tels que le festival de Notting Hill et les Melas indo-pakistanais au Royaume-Uni sont étudiés. Ces évènements constituent entre autre choses des réponses (parfois ambigues) à l’expérience du racisme par les différents groupes d’immigrés. Ensuite nous passons aux chansons qui évoquent le racisme et nous tentons de comprendre ce qu’on peut faite avec une chanson antiraciste, et pourquoi cette question – davantage que toutes les autres questions politiques – est tellement présente dans la chanson populaire. Enfin, des campagnes telles que Rock against Racism et Love Music Hate Racism sont analysés.
Cliquez sur le lien "jcmullen.fr" pour télécharger le fichier MP3.
Cliquez sur le lien "jcmullen.fr" pour télécharger le fichier MP3.
Research Interests:
Les chansons populaires des différentes époques n’illustrent pas l’histoire sociale et culturelle : elles en font pleinement partie. Elles s’intègrent à une activité de masse qui peut nous apprendre beaucoup sur les représentations... more
Les chansons populaires des différentes époques n’illustrent pas l’histoire sociale et culturelle : elles en font pleinement partie. Elles s’intègrent à une activité de masse qui peut nous apprendre beaucoup sur les représentations populaires de l’époque, sur les opinions, les peurs et les fantasmes des publics.
Dans cette intervention, John Mullen explore l’histoire de l’étude des chansons populaires et présente ses propres recherches en histoire culturelle de la chanson populaire, notamment sur la période de la Première guerre mondiale. L’intervention est suivie d’une séance de questions-réponses. Cliquez sur "jcmullen.fr" pour accéder
Dans cette intervention, John Mullen explore l’histoire de l’étude des chansons populaires et présente ses propres recherches en histoire culturelle de la chanson populaire, notamment sur la période de la Première guerre mondiale. L’intervention est suivie d’une séance de questions-réponses. Cliquez sur "jcmullen.fr" pour accéder
Research Interests:
Title of Presentation : British and French pop song in 1915 Talk given at conference of IASPM, Campinas, Brazil, July 2015 Strand : Historical and Social Times Click on the above link to jcmullen.fr to listen to the mp3 recording. In... more
Title of Presentation : British and French pop song in 1915
Talk given at conference of IASPM, Campinas, Brazil, July 2015
Strand : Historical and Social Times
Click on the above link to jcmullen.fr to listen to the mp3 recording.
In Britain and France, recent celebrations of the centenary of the First World War have been of very varied historical and ideological content. Relatively little has been said about popular music of the time : the same dozen or so ultra-patriotic songs seem to be quoted, and one or two pacifist songs, whereas the rich variety of the repertoires (thousands of songs) has been completely ignored.
However, in 1915, as today, the popular song was an important means of expressing and celebrating the everyday experience and fantasies of ordinary people, and an important mass social activity. Mainly produced as live shows and as sheet music, since gramophones were still the preserve of a small minority, pop song of the time had its own « grammar » in which the voices of different interests entered into compromises. The repertoire was formed under many kinds of pressure – the commercial requirement to sell songs and seats, the varying priorities of mass audiences, of travelling singers and of local orchestras, technological pressures (such as big halls without microphones) and the pressures of a singalong genre where much participation is required from the audience.
This contribution will compare the repertoires of British and French pop music from the year 1915, and the industries which produced them, hoping in this way both to illuminate a production which can be seen as part of the prehistory of modern popular musics, and to measure the influence on the songs of different technological, social and political pressures in two very different countries involved in total war. The choice of a single year is intended to allow a focus which takes into account the relatively fast-changing face of popular music repertoires, even before the accelerations due to the arrival of broadcast media.
click on the above link to jcmullen.fr to listen to the mp3 recording.
Keywords : Popular song ; First world war ; music industry ; France ; Great Britain
John Mullen (University Paris-Est Créteil) has published widely on popular music of the period 1860- 1945. His work deals both with societal aspects of popular music (the support for respectability, the communication of patriotism or racism, etc.) and with musical and economic aspects (use of the voice, professionalization of the industry, etc.). His full-length study of British Popular Song during the First World War was published in French in 2012, and is being published by Ashgate in Britain in 2015.
Talk given at conference of IASPM, Campinas, Brazil, July 2015
Strand : Historical and Social Times
Click on the above link to jcmullen.fr to listen to the mp3 recording.
In Britain and France, recent celebrations of the centenary of the First World War have been of very varied historical and ideological content. Relatively little has been said about popular music of the time : the same dozen or so ultra-patriotic songs seem to be quoted, and one or two pacifist songs, whereas the rich variety of the repertoires (thousands of songs) has been completely ignored.
However, in 1915, as today, the popular song was an important means of expressing and celebrating the everyday experience and fantasies of ordinary people, and an important mass social activity. Mainly produced as live shows and as sheet music, since gramophones were still the preserve of a small minority, pop song of the time had its own « grammar » in which the voices of different interests entered into compromises. The repertoire was formed under many kinds of pressure – the commercial requirement to sell songs and seats, the varying priorities of mass audiences, of travelling singers and of local orchestras, technological pressures (such as big halls without microphones) and the pressures of a singalong genre where much participation is required from the audience.
This contribution will compare the repertoires of British and French pop music from the year 1915, and the industries which produced them, hoping in this way both to illuminate a production which can be seen as part of the prehistory of modern popular musics, and to measure the influence on the songs of different technological, social and political pressures in two very different countries involved in total war. The choice of a single year is intended to allow a focus which takes into account the relatively fast-changing face of popular music repertoires, even before the accelerations due to the arrival of broadcast media.
click on the above link to jcmullen.fr to listen to the mp3 recording.
Keywords : Popular song ; First world war ; music industry ; France ; Great Britain
John Mullen (University Paris-Est Créteil) has published widely on popular music of the period 1860- 1945. His work deals both with societal aspects of popular music (the support for respectability, the communication of patriotism or racism, etc.) and with musical and economic aspects (use of the voice, professionalization of the industry, etc.). His full-length study of British Popular Song during the First World War was published in French in 2012, and is being published by Ashgate in Britain in 2015.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
What can political rock do ? An analysis based on the example of the Tom Robinson Band 1976-79. John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Crétéil This talk was given in Toulon in June 2015 at the annual conference of the Société des... more
What can political rock do ? An analysis based on the example of the Tom Robinson Band 1976-79.
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Crétéil
This talk was given in Toulon in June 2015 at the annual conference of the Société des Anglicistes de l’Enseignement Supérieur.
Rock music in the 1970s generally transmitted values of partying, romantic love and generational revolt. The claiming/ performing of « authenticity » was key to the legitimacy of artistes with a radical content to their songs. This talk looks at one example band and asks what effect was aimed at and achieved by this « very political band ». In particular, questions of narrator, types of story, and the meanings of audience implication are explored. Comparisons are made with other ways of being « political » with popular music : charity concerts and underground currents.
Click on the jcmullen.fr link for the full talk
La musique rock des années 197O privilégiait généralement les valeurs de fête, d’amour romantique et de révolte générationnelle. La revendication de « l’authenticité » jouait un grand rôle dans la légitimité des artistes au contenu contestataire. Est-il possible d’évaluation l’effet politique de ceux des rockers qui voulaient combiner art et protestation, voire art et militantisme ? Notre intervention vise à explorer cette question en prenant appui sur le cas du Tom Robinson Band, sélectionné « Best New Band » lors des Capital Radio music awards de 1977. Ses deux albums Power in the Darkness et TRB two et son E.P. Rising Free nous serviront de corpus pour poser la question « Quels messages transmis à qui, à quel but et avec quel effet ? ».
Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour la communication complète
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Crétéil
This talk was given in Toulon in June 2015 at the annual conference of the Société des Anglicistes de l’Enseignement Supérieur.
Rock music in the 1970s generally transmitted values of partying, romantic love and generational revolt. The claiming/ performing of « authenticity » was key to the legitimacy of artistes with a radical content to their songs. This talk looks at one example band and asks what effect was aimed at and achieved by this « very political band ». In particular, questions of narrator, types of story, and the meanings of audience implication are explored. Comparisons are made with other ways of being « political » with popular music : charity concerts and underground currents.
Click on the jcmullen.fr link for the full talk
La musique rock des années 197O privilégiait généralement les valeurs de fête, d’amour romantique et de révolte générationnelle. La revendication de « l’authenticité » jouait un grand rôle dans la légitimité des artistes au contenu contestataire. Est-il possible d’évaluation l’effet politique de ceux des rockers qui voulaient combiner art et protestation, voire art et militantisme ? Notre intervention vise à explorer cette question en prenant appui sur le cas du Tom Robinson Band, sélectionné « Best New Band » lors des Capital Radio music awards de 1977. Ses deux albums Power in the Darkness et TRB two et son E.P. Rising Free nous serviront de corpus pour poser la question « Quels messages transmis à qui, à quel but et avec quel effet ? ».
Cliquez sur le lien jcmullen.fr pour la communication complète
Research Interests:
Interview on the Swedish radio channel Sverige radio, on 5th February 2015. John Mullen The interview deals with popular song in Britain during the First World War : repertoires and processes. My piece is towards the end of the... more
Interview on the Swedish radio channel Sverige radio, on 5th February 2015.
John Mullen
The interview deals with popular song in Britain during the First World War : repertoires and processes.
My piece is towards the end of the programme, and is in Swedish and in English.
John Mullen
The interview deals with popular song in Britain during the First World War : repertoires and processes.
My piece is towards the end of the programme, and is in Swedish and in English.
Research Interests:
“How did the British popular music industry react to the outbreak of war?” The war dawned on a powerful music industry which was determined to continue to show its respectability through voluble patriotism, but within which its different... more
“How did the British popular music industry react to the outbreak of war?”
The war dawned on a powerful music industry which was determined to continue to show its respectability through voluble patriotism, but within which its different actors also scrambled to position themselves in the new context, in order to ensure that the war would not harm them commercially and might even improve their profitability. Whether artistes or theatre chains, songwriters or record companies, each actor was obliged to take into account this new factor which added itself to the multiple existing constraints of their professions. This paper will evaluate these constraints and the weight of the new context, and will also attempt to judge the alleged jingoism of music halls of the time, by examining it within a much wider corpus of the songs of 1914, of which the vast majority did not speak of the war.
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil, co-directeur groupe de recherché CIMMA(IMAGER)
Intervention in seminar “1914” at the Conference of the European Society for the Study of English, Kosice, Slovakia, August 2014
Click on the link to jcmullen.fr for access to the full paper.
The war dawned on a powerful music industry which was determined to continue to show its respectability through voluble patriotism, but within which its different actors also scrambled to position themselves in the new context, in order to ensure that the war would not harm them commercially and might even improve their profitability. Whether artistes or theatre chains, songwriters or record companies, each actor was obliged to take into account this new factor which added itself to the multiple existing constraints of their professions. This paper will evaluate these constraints and the weight of the new context, and will also attempt to judge the alleged jingoism of music halls of the time, by examining it within a much wider corpus of the songs of 1914, of which the vast majority did not speak of the war.
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil, co-directeur groupe de recherché CIMMA(IMAGER)
Intervention in seminar “1914” at the Conference of the European Society for the Study of English, Kosice, Slovakia, August 2014
Click on the link to jcmullen.fr for access to the full paper.
Research Interests:
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Rennes, June 2014 Intervention at the international conference "War Memories" "War memories in British soldiers' songs of the First World War" Abstract The anonymous songs invented... more
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Rennes, June 2014
Intervention at the international conference "War Memories"
"War memories in British soldiers' songs of the First World War"
Abstract
The anonymous songs invented by British soldiers in the course of the First World War have often been used in the presentation of this war to subsequent generations. The fact that they were produced anonymously by ordinary soldiers is generally thought to guarantee the authenticity of the sentiments expressed.
Collections of these songs were published during the conflict for diverse motives, generally a desire to praise the ordinary man who was presented as a hero who had kept his sense of humour. In the 1930s, a more complete collection was published by veteran soldiers.
In the 1960s, the musical play (later film) "Oh What a Lovely War" used these songs and integrated them into an antimilitarist discourse, whereas in the last few years, in the run-up to the centenary, collections of the songs have been re-published by Conservative newspapers as part of a discourse of military pride.
Finally, soldiers' songs are sung or presented by groups or individual singers today, generally with an anti-militarist intent, but occasionally in a nationalist context.
My contribution aims at explaining why these songs should be such a malleable object of history, and whether it is possible to find their "original" meanings.
For full paper, click on link to "jcmullen.fr" below
Intervention at the international conference "War Memories"
"War memories in British soldiers' songs of the First World War"
Abstract
The anonymous songs invented by British soldiers in the course of the First World War have often been used in the presentation of this war to subsequent generations. The fact that they were produced anonymously by ordinary soldiers is generally thought to guarantee the authenticity of the sentiments expressed.
Collections of these songs were published during the conflict for diverse motives, generally a desire to praise the ordinary man who was presented as a hero who had kept his sense of humour. In the 1930s, a more complete collection was published by veteran soldiers.
In the 1960s, the musical play (later film) "Oh What a Lovely War" used these songs and integrated them into an antimilitarist discourse, whereas in the last few years, in the run-up to the centenary, collections of the songs have been re-published by Conservative newspapers as part of a discourse of military pride.
Finally, soldiers' songs are sung or presented by groups or individual singers today, generally with an anti-militarist intent, but occasionally in a nationalist context.
My contribution aims at explaining why these songs should be such a malleable object of history, and whether it is possible to find their "original" meanings.
For full paper, click on link to "jcmullen.fr" below
Research Interests:
This talk, a contribution to an experts' workshop at the University of Lincoln, takes an initial look at what music in the home meant for people in the period 1900-1925, that is, before the generalization of gramophone and radio. It is... more
This talk, a contribution to an experts' workshop at the University of Lincoln, takes an initial look at what music in the home meant for people in the period 1900-1925, that is, before the generalization of gramophone and radio. It is mor ein the nature of a framework for future research than a report on completed work.
Research Interests:
"The First World War pop song as an object of Cultural History John Mullen, Université Paris Est Créteil In this seminar at the University of Stockholm in April 2014, I present some aspects of my work on British popular song in the... more
"The First World War pop song as an object of Cultural History
John Mullen, Université Paris Est Créteil
In this seminar at the University of Stockholm in April 2014, I present some aspects of my work on British popular song in the First World War, in particular the nature of the corpus and the importance of analysing popular music as social practice and not as simply a series of texts. The talk is illustrated by listening to a number of extracts from recordings from the time, and is followed by an extensive question and answer session. Click on the link "jcmullen.fr" below for the MP3 file.
"
John Mullen, Université Paris Est Créteil
In this seminar at the University of Stockholm in April 2014, I present some aspects of my work on British popular song in the First World War, in particular the nature of the corpus and the importance of analysing popular music as social practice and not as simply a series of texts. The talk is illustrated by listening to a number of extracts from recordings from the time, and is followed by an extensive question and answer session. Click on the link "jcmullen.fr" below for the MP3 file.
"
Research Interests:
"Stéréotypes et identités : l’Irlande et les irlandais dans le music-hall britannique 1900-1920 L’’histoire de l’immigration irlandaise en Angleterre de 1840 à 1920 a été marquée par la construction précoce d’une « communauté »... more
"Stéréotypes et identités : l’Irlande et les irlandais dans le music-hall britannique 1900-1920
L’’histoire de l’immigration irlandaise en Angleterre de 1840 à 1920 a été marquée par la construction précoce d’une « communauté » irlandaise en Angleterre dans les villes ouvrières, fournissant souvent aide et soutien aux nouveaux arrivants. Les Irlandais en Angleterre, encore assez près de leur patrie pour la visiter régulièrement et pour garder des liens émotionnels forts, s’intégraient néanmoins de plus en plus dans la classe ouvrière locale
En même temps, un racisme vivace faisant courir des stéréotypes d’irlandais paresseux, idiots et enfantins accompagnait la domination coloniale séculaire de l’Angleterre sur l’Irlande. Parallèlement, la vie rurale en Irlande était présentée dans la culture populaire comme une sorte de vie paradisiaque, que les Anglais, largement urbanisés, avaient perdue et pouvaient regretter.
Ces différents aspects sont visibles dans la chanson populaire du début du 20e siècle. La collection de partitions à la British Library fournit une archive inexploitée pour alimenter notre réflexion. Nous examinerons un corpus d’une soixantaine de chansons populaires qui évoquent l’Irlande et les Irlandais pour tenter de tirer des conclusions sur les messages transmis, et sur leur réception par le public populaire. Nous verrons également l’effet de la première guerre mondiale et de l’insurrection dublinoise de 1916 sur les chansons.
Bibliographie
Steve Garner, Racism in the Irish Experience, Londres, Pluto Press, 2003.
Liz Curtis Nothing but the Same Old Story - the Roots of Anti-Irish Racism, Londres, Sasta, 1996.
Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White, londres, Routledge, 2008.
Catherine Lloyd, The Irish Community in Britain: Discrimination, Disadvantage and Racism - An Annotated Bibliography, Irish Studies Centre Occasional Papers, University of North London,Centre for Leisure & Tourism Studies, 1995
"
L’’histoire de l’immigration irlandaise en Angleterre de 1840 à 1920 a été marquée par la construction précoce d’une « communauté » irlandaise en Angleterre dans les villes ouvrières, fournissant souvent aide et soutien aux nouveaux arrivants. Les Irlandais en Angleterre, encore assez près de leur patrie pour la visiter régulièrement et pour garder des liens émotionnels forts, s’intégraient néanmoins de plus en plus dans la classe ouvrière locale
En même temps, un racisme vivace faisant courir des stéréotypes d’irlandais paresseux, idiots et enfantins accompagnait la domination coloniale séculaire de l’Angleterre sur l’Irlande. Parallèlement, la vie rurale en Irlande était présentée dans la culture populaire comme une sorte de vie paradisiaque, que les Anglais, largement urbanisés, avaient perdue et pouvaient regretter.
Ces différents aspects sont visibles dans la chanson populaire du début du 20e siècle. La collection de partitions à la British Library fournit une archive inexploitée pour alimenter notre réflexion. Nous examinerons un corpus d’une soixantaine de chansons populaires qui évoquent l’Irlande et les Irlandais pour tenter de tirer des conclusions sur les messages transmis, et sur leur réception par le public populaire. Nous verrons également l’effet de la première guerre mondiale et de l’insurrection dublinoise de 1916 sur les chansons.
Bibliographie
Steve Garner, Racism in the Irish Experience, Londres, Pluto Press, 2003.
Liz Curtis Nothing but the Same Old Story - the Roots of Anti-Irish Racism, Londres, Sasta, 1996.
Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White, londres, Routledge, 2008.
Catherine Lloyd, The Irish Community in Britain: Discrimination, Disadvantage and Racism - An Annotated Bibliography, Irish Studies Centre Occasional Papers, University of North London,Centre for Leisure & Tourism Studies, 1995
"
"Women in 1914 were generally constrained by the « separate spheres » ideology which drastically limited their apparition in public life. Yet in the music hall, large numbers of women singers earned a living. What did they represent to... more
"Women in 1914 were generally constrained by the « separate spheres » ideology which drastically limited their apparition in public life. Yet in the music hall, large numbers of women singers earned a living. What did they represent to audiences of the time? My paper looks at the role of women music hall stars.
Click on the link to find the file on my personal website jcmullen.fr.
I then go on to look at music hall songs and their treatment of women : anti-suffragette songs, songs about the suffering of a husband in marriage, and songs about the changing roles of women in society during the first World War.
"
Click on the link to find the file on my personal website jcmullen.fr.
I then go on to look at music hall songs and their treatment of women : anti-suffragette songs, songs about the suffering of a husband in marriage, and songs about the changing roles of women in society during the first World War.
"
Research Interests:
Les chansons des soldats britanniques de la première guerre montrent des vérités sur l'expérience de la guerre qui peuvent être difficiles à percevoir d'autres sources. De composition anonyme, sans but commercial, elles devaient plaire... more
Les chansons des soldats britanniques de la première guerre montrent des vérités sur l'expérience de la guerre qui peuvent être difficiles à percevoir d'autres sources. De composition anonyme, sans but commercial, elles devaient plaire aux soldats de rang et faire consensus dans un milieu très spécifique. Que nous apprennent-ils ? Cliquez sur le lien sur jcmullen.fr .
Research Interests:
"Keynote address, October 2013, Université de Bourgogne. Art and commitment in the British music hall during its Golden Age (1860 to 1925) The music hall of 1860 to 1925 was one of the main forms of entertainment for working class... more
"Keynote address, October 2013, Université de Bourgogne.
Art and commitment in the British music hall during its Golden Age (1860 to 1925)
The music hall of 1860 to 1925 was one of the main forms of entertainment for working class people in Britain. Constantly changing under the dual pressures of the centralization of capital and the drive towards “respectability” it nevertheless retained in many aspects a working class voice and an anti-establishment tone.
Is it possible to talk of commitment in such a genre of mass culture? Or conversely, is the main dynamic one of « a culture of consolation », encouraging passive acceptance of society and its ills? What made music-hall so much more popular than other claimants to the crown of popular culture, such as folk music ? What forms of audience identification do we find, and how do the audiences influence what the singers decide to sing?
T.S. Eliot famously commented, in an obituary of the great music hall star Marie Lloyd, that “no other comedian succeeded so well in giving expression to the life of that audience, in raising it to a kind of art”. Is this claim for music hall to be taken with a pinch of salt, a simple complaint from those of the elite who liked to slum it at working class music halls? Or can music hall produce complex artistic representations of ordinary people’s lives and problems?
My talk will look at a series of popular music hall songs in order to explore these different aspects of music hall, and we shall listen to a few extracts to help us imagine the atmosphere produced at the time.
Click on the link below to jcmullen.fr to listen to the MP3 file.""
Art and commitment in the British music hall during its Golden Age (1860 to 1925)
The music hall of 1860 to 1925 was one of the main forms of entertainment for working class people in Britain. Constantly changing under the dual pressures of the centralization of capital and the drive towards “respectability” it nevertheless retained in many aspects a working class voice and an anti-establishment tone.
Is it possible to talk of commitment in such a genre of mass culture? Or conversely, is the main dynamic one of « a culture of consolation », encouraging passive acceptance of society and its ills? What made music-hall so much more popular than other claimants to the crown of popular culture, such as folk music ? What forms of audience identification do we find, and how do the audiences influence what the singers decide to sing?
T.S. Eliot famously commented, in an obituary of the great music hall star Marie Lloyd, that “no other comedian succeeded so well in giving expression to the life of that audience, in raising it to a kind of art”. Is this claim for music hall to be taken with a pinch of salt, a simple complaint from those of the elite who liked to slum it at working class music halls? Or can music hall produce complex artistic representations of ordinary people’s lives and problems?
My talk will look at a series of popular music hall songs in order to explore these different aspects of music hall, and we shall listen to a few extracts to help us imagine the atmosphere produced at the time.
Click on the link below to jcmullen.fr to listen to the MP3 file.""
Research Interests:
""British historians and the First World War. Podcast Many thousands of books have been written about the First world war, based on different kinds of sources, from military reports to postcards, asking different kinds of questions,... more
""British historians and the First World War. Podcast
Many thousands of books have been written about the First world war, based on different kinds of sources, from military reports to postcards, asking different kinds of questions, and with different priorities. In this talk, John Mullen gives an introduction to the British historiography of the Great War almost a century after it started.
Guest lecture at the University of Gdansk in Poland, April 2013
click on the link below (jcmullen.fr) for free access to the file.
Key words : First world war, historiography, military history, social history, political history, podcast
""
Many thousands of books have been written about the First world war, based on different kinds of sources, from military reports to postcards, asking different kinds of questions, and with different priorities. In this talk, John Mullen gives an introduction to the British historiography of the Great War almost a century after it started.
Guest lecture at the University of Gdansk in Poland, April 2013
click on the link below (jcmullen.fr) for free access to the file.
Key words : First world war, historiography, military history, social history, political history, podcast
""
Research Interests:
"Myths and realities of wartime music hall John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil Victorian music hall has been much studied, Edwardian music hall much less, and there is no comprehensive study of music hall during the First World... more
"Myths and realities of wartime music hall
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil
Victorian music hall has been much studied, Edwardian music hall much less, and there is no comprehensive study of music hall during the First World War, which is why we chose to work on this subject. Mentioned in passing by many writers at the time and historians since, music hall has been presented as proof of universal war fever taking over the civilian population, far from the realities of massacre in the trenches. Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon denounced aspects of the music hall, while the 1960s musical play and film « Oh What A Lovely War » presents music hall discourse as jingoistic and deranged, to be contrasted with soldier songs, interpreted as anti-war protest from those who really knew.
As part of our book project on wartime music hall, we have collected a corpus of over a thousand songs. By examining these, we will attempt to answer the questions –
Was wartime music hall typically or exceptionally jingoistic ?
Were anti-war songs or social protest songs possible on the music hall stage ?
Who decided on what was sung and how?
What can wartime music hall tell us about popular attitudes of the time ?
Click on the jcmullen.fr link to have access to the contribution.
John Mullen, Université Paris-Est Créteil
Victorian music hall has been much studied, Edwardian music hall much less, and there is no comprehensive study of music hall during the First World War, which is why we chose to work on this subject. Mentioned in passing by many writers at the time and historians since, music hall has been presented as proof of universal war fever taking over the civilian population, far from the realities of massacre in the trenches. Robert Graves and Siegfried Sassoon denounced aspects of the music hall, while the 1960s musical play and film « Oh What A Lovely War » presents music hall discourse as jingoistic and deranged, to be contrasted with soldier songs, interpreted as anti-war protest from those who really knew.
As part of our book project on wartime music hall, we have collected a corpus of over a thousand songs. By examining these, we will attempt to answer the questions –
Was wartime music hall typically or exceptionally jingoistic ?
Were anti-war songs or social protest songs possible on the music hall stage ?
Who decided on what was sung and how?
What can wartime music hall tell us about popular attitudes of the time ?
Click on the jcmullen.fr link to have access to the contribution.
Research Interests:
Intervention in seminar on popular music, Université de Poitiers, 2010 From the point of view of the history of popular music, late British music hall is a hybrid phenomenon. We can already see a number of the characteristics of later... more
Intervention in seminar on popular music, Université de Poitiers, 2010
From the point of view of the history of popular music, late British music hall is a hybrid phenomenon. We can already see a number of the characteristics of later pop music – the star system, and the mix of romance, humour and realism as themes, for example. But on many key points there are differences. The live show and the sheet music are still at the centre of popular music’s influence – records are still marginal, and of course radio broadcasting remains far in the future.
The music-hall milieu of this time is committed to an almost obsessive search for legitimacy in the eyes of social elites. Our contribution will explore this search. We will try to define the nature of the desired legitimacy, and its relationship to respectability, a crucial ideological weapon of the elites of the time.
To see the full paper, click on the "jcmullen.fr" link below.
From the point of view of the history of popular music, late British music hall is a hybrid phenomenon. We can already see a number of the characteristics of later pop music – the star system, and the mix of romance, humour and realism as themes, for example. But on many key points there are differences. The live show and the sheet music are still at the centre of popular music’s influence – records are still marginal, and of course radio broadcasting remains far in the future.
The music-hall milieu of this time is committed to an almost obsessive search for legitimacy in the eyes of social elites. Our contribution will explore this search. We will try to define the nature of the desired legitimacy, and its relationship to respectability, a crucial ideological weapon of the elites of the time.
To see the full paper, click on the "jcmullen.fr" link below.
Research Interests:
"Abstract : Defending respectability and denouncing vulgarity in early 20th century music hall In the early twentieth century, the generalized and even obsessive search for “respectability” and the denunciation of “vulgarity” as a... more
"Abstract :
Defending respectability and denouncing vulgarity in early 20th century music hall
In the early twentieth century, the generalized and even obsessive search for “respectability” and the denunciation of “vulgarity” as a significant threat to society can be considered to be a type of campaign against anti-social behaviour, and the century’s distance we have to look upon it now may help us see its ideological nature more clearly.
The campaign for respectability was particularly present in the music-hall, a working-class entertainment trying hard, with some success, to move up-market. The danger of “vulgarity” was ever-present and was a particular worry to upwardly-mobile music-hall managers and stars determined to join the elite of society, to do which impeccable respectability was compulsory.
Our contribution will look at different aspects of this campaign for respectability in the music halls. We will concentrate particularly on the period of the First World War, where the contrast between official repectable morality and real social practice was particularly striking, since enthusiastic support for the war was as much a part of being respectable as avoiding swearing in front of ladies.
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Defending respectability and denouncing vulgarity in early 20th century music hall
In the early twentieth century, the generalized and even obsessive search for “respectability” and the denunciation of “vulgarity” as a significant threat to society can be considered to be a type of campaign against anti-social behaviour, and the century’s distance we have to look upon it now may help us see its ideological nature more clearly.
The campaign for respectability was particularly present in the music-hall, a working-class entertainment trying hard, with some success, to move up-market. The danger of “vulgarity” was ever-present and was a particular worry to upwardly-mobile music-hall managers and stars determined to join the elite of society, to do which impeccable respectability was compulsory.
Our contribution will look at different aspects of this campaign for respectability in the music halls. We will concentrate particularly on the period of the First World War, where the contrast between official repectable morality and real social practice was particularly striking, since enthusiastic support for the war was as much a part of being respectable as avoiding swearing in front of ladies.
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Peter Grant has gathered together and studied meticulously a large number of popular songs from a wide variety of genres in several countries, which speak of the First World War, and he has shown that such songs are more common since the... more
Peter Grant has gathered together and studied meticulously a large number of popular songs from a wide variety of genres in several countries, which speak of the First World War, and he has shown that such songs are more common since the beginning of the new milennium. From chanson to punk to Flanders and Swan, he gives an account of the different ways they treat the theme, treatments which, naturally, are more rooted in the imaginary-emotional musical worlds artistes are providing for their listeners than in attempts to transmit historical knowledge of the Great War.
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Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique
Review of A Crooked Line: from Cultural History to the History of Society by Geoff Eley
Review of A Crooked Line: from Cultural History to the History of Society by Geoff Eley
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What do seven-year-old middle-class children do with music in their homes?
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In these strange times, mid 2018, when a campaign against the leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, is defending the unlikely thesis that this lifelong antiracist activist has actually been a racist all along, it may be a... more
In these strange times, mid 2018, when a campaign against the leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, is defending the unlikely thesis that this lifelong antiracist activist has actually been a racist all along, it may be a good moment to look more in detail at who Jeremy Corbyn is and how he got to the position he is in now, with a fair chance of being the next British Prime Minister.
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This review of the France Culture radio series "L'air rebelle" was published in the Journal of World Popular Music 5:1 in 2018.
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Eric Doumerc a déjà écrit en 2014 un livre sur le reggae dont la majeure partie analyse les paroles d’une sélection de chansons, et il est l’auteur d’autres livres sur la musique et la poésie antillaise. Ce nouvel ouvrage présente à un... more
Eric Doumerc a déjà écrit en 2014 un livre sur le reggae dont la majeure partie analyse les paroles d’une sélection de chansons, et il est l’auteur d’autres livres sur la musique et la poésie antillaise. Ce nouvel ouvrage présente à un public francophone un large panorama de l’évolution et de l’impact du reggae au Royaume-Uni. Il peut utilement être accompagné, pour ceux qui comprennent l’anglais, du documentaire de la BBC Reggae Britannia.1 M Doumerc montre une connaissance approfondie de ce courant musical, et a profité de nombreux séjours dans les « quartiers jamaïquains » d’Angleterre pour faire sa recherche.
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From its beginnings in the 1970s, popular music studies have underlined the parallel activities and channels involved in the production and consumption of a song. Melody, drumming, vocal staging, voice quality, performance, clothing, and... more
From its beginnings in the 1970s, popular music studies have underlined the parallel activities and channels involved in the production and consumption of a song. Melody, drumming, vocal staging, voice quality, performance, clothing, and many other aspects simultaneously produce their effect. Such simultaneity is implicit in discussions such as Hennion and Vignolle (1978), and explicit in such contributions as Tagg (1987). The present book appears to be addressed to people working in discourse analysis and is a plea for music to be taken seriously by the discipline, whose scholars, we are told, are more accustomed to analysing news bulletins and political speeches...
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This review was published in the Autumn 2017 issue of the Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens.
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Recension de "Chanter la Grande Guerre - Les Poilus et les femmes 1914-1919" par Anne Simon-Carrère Les chansons populaires d’il y a un siècle ne constituent absolument pas une illustration de l’Histoire qui se passerait ailleurs (dans... more
Recension de "Chanter la Grande Guerre - Les Poilus et les femmes 1914-1919" par Anne Simon-Carrère
Les chansons populaires d’il y a un siècle ne constituent absolument pas une
illustration de l’Histoire qui se passerait ailleurs (dans des bureaux présidentiels et des QG militaires), elles en font pleinement partie.
Les textes et les musiques choisis par des millions de gens ordinaires pour exprimer et explorer leurs plaintes, leurs idées, leurs fantasmes, souvent chantés en chœur au théâtre ou au café-concert, méritent une étude sérieuse, car ils nous communiquent des informations sur des aspects de la vie mentale des populations qui ont laissé peu de traces ailleurs.Ce livre est le premier à analyser un grand corpus de chansons populaires françaises de la Première Guerre.
Les chansons populaires d’il y a un siècle ne constituent absolument pas une
illustration de l’Histoire qui se passerait ailleurs (dans des bureaux présidentiels et des QG militaires), elles en font pleinement partie.
Les textes et les musiques choisis par des millions de gens ordinaires pour exprimer et explorer leurs plaintes, leurs idées, leurs fantasmes, souvent chantés en chœur au théâtre ou au café-concert, méritent une étude sérieuse, car ils nous communiquent des informations sur des aspects de la vie mentale des populations qui ont laissé peu de traces ailleurs.Ce livre est le premier à analyser un grand corpus de chansons populaires françaises de la Première Guerre.
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From the first sentence of the preface, the tone for the book is set: “Empires, for imperialists, have always been realms of fantasy”. This book looks at the structure of vision and fairy tale constructed around European looting of the... more
From the first sentence of the preface, the tone for the book is set: “Empires, for imperialists, have always been realms of fantasy”. This book looks at the structure of vision and fairy tale constructed around European looting of the dominated South.
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This new book presents a selection of several dozen pieces of writing on Western popular music along with advice and exercises for the person who would like to write for fans and sell their writing.
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A review of an important book by Philip Tagg, a founder member of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. Philip Tagg maintains that musical activity of all sorts should be studied, not just as musicological... more
A review of an important book by Philip Tagg, a founder member of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music. Philip Tagg maintains that musical activity of all sorts should be studied, not just as musicological structures , but as social behaviour and communication. Click on the link to Quaderna website to read the review.
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Les observateurs du music-hall britannique ont souvent été divisés entre ceux qui y voyaient une « authentique culture populaire », une voix du peuple, un espace de joie et de liberté au sein d’un capitalisme urbain obscur et pénible,... more
Les observateurs du music-hall britannique ont souvent été divisés entre ceux qui y voyaient une « authentique culture populaire », une voix du peuple, un espace de joie et de liberté au sein d’un capitalisme urbain obscur et pénible, une culture capable d’exprimer les intérêts de son public ouvrier, et d’autres qui ont suggéré qu’il s’agissait plutôt d’une « culture pour consoler », faite de productions mielleuses servant à contenter les masses, mais purement commerciales en contenu. Notre étude des chansons du music-hall des vingt premières années du 20e siècle vise à découvrir et à évaluer les éléments de contestation présents dans les chansons et à expliquer quels facteurs ont pu encourager ou freiner une expression contestataire. Nous comptons illustrer la thèse de MacInnes selon laquelle le music-hall « n’était pas un art de protestation sociale », mais qu’il était « un art d’auto-affirmation ouvrière ».
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This contribution proposes an overview of political theological and practical issues and how the Church of England dealt withthem during the First World War.
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Un bilan de la publication 2015-2021
My half of a poetry book published with Terry Simpson in the 1990s.
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Il s'agit du document de synthèse que j'ai produit afin de passer mon habilitation à diriger des recherches en 2012. Ce document présente mes recherches et l'approche que j'ai suivie.
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Britain in the 1970s, a useful list of video documents available online. En 2016, j'ai établi et fait circuler une liste de documentaires et autres videos disponibles en ligne qui pouvaient aider la préparation à la question de... more
Britain in the 1970s, a useful list of video documents available online.
En 2016, j'ai établi et fait circuler une liste de documentaires et autres videos disponibles en ligne qui pouvaient aider la préparation à la question de civilisation britannique à l'agrégation : Le Royaume-Uni à l'épreuve de la crise 1970-79. Voici la liste mise à jour, avec une quinzaine de nouveaux videos que j'ai découverts depuis. John Mullen, Université de Rouen Il existe sur YouTube plusieurs dizaines de vidéos, généralement des documentaires télévisés, qui traitent de différents aspects de la période des années 1970 au Royaume-Uni. Certains sont des documentaires de l'époque, qui donnent des informations précieuses sur les attitudes des médias en plus que des faits sur les évènements. D'autres sont des documentaires plus tardifs, parfois produits lors de la mort des grands hommes et femmes politiques de la période. Enfin, on peut y trouver des conférences universitaires sur certains évènements ou processus, ou des entretiens télévisés avec les acteurs de l'époque. Les dates des documentaires ne sont pas toujours disponibles, mais je les ai indiquées là où c'était possible. Des vidéos sont occasionnellement supprimées par YouTube pour diverses raisons, alors il se peut qu'un ou deux de ces émissions ne soient plus disponibles lorsque vous cherchez à les visionner. J'ai testé pour vous ces documentaires et vous trouverez ici les liens vers une quarantaine de ceux qui, à mon avis, valent la peine. Pour économiser du temps, il est possible de faire comme moi, et les convertir en fichier MP3 par un logiciel en ligne tel que clipconverter, afin de pouvoir les écouter dans les transports ou dans la rue. J'ai exclu un certain nombre de documentaires sensationnalistes ou excessivement partisans ou superficiels. La liste des documentaires ci-dessous n'a rien d'exhaustive : il s'agit de ces émissions que des anonymes ont voulu faire télécharger sur le plateforme. Cette liste est fournie sans garantie : le documentaire télévisé est notoirement partisan comme genre, et de nombreuses questions importantes ne figurent pas dans des documentaires YouTube. Si vous avez visionné d'autres vidéos utiles, j'aimerais bien recevoir les références.
En 2016, j'ai établi et fait circuler une liste de documentaires et autres videos disponibles en ligne qui pouvaient aider la préparation à la question de civilisation britannique à l'agrégation : Le Royaume-Uni à l'épreuve de la crise 1970-79. Voici la liste mise à jour, avec une quinzaine de nouveaux videos que j'ai découverts depuis. John Mullen, Université de Rouen Il existe sur YouTube plusieurs dizaines de vidéos, généralement des documentaires télévisés, qui traitent de différents aspects de la période des années 1970 au Royaume-Uni. Certains sont des documentaires de l'époque, qui donnent des informations précieuses sur les attitudes des médias en plus que des faits sur les évènements. D'autres sont des documentaires plus tardifs, parfois produits lors de la mort des grands hommes et femmes politiques de la période. Enfin, on peut y trouver des conférences universitaires sur certains évènements ou processus, ou des entretiens télévisés avec les acteurs de l'époque. Les dates des documentaires ne sont pas toujours disponibles, mais je les ai indiquées là où c'était possible. Des vidéos sont occasionnellement supprimées par YouTube pour diverses raisons, alors il se peut qu'un ou deux de ces émissions ne soient plus disponibles lorsque vous cherchez à les visionner. J'ai testé pour vous ces documentaires et vous trouverez ici les liens vers une quarantaine de ceux qui, à mon avis, valent la peine. Pour économiser du temps, il est possible de faire comme moi, et les convertir en fichier MP3 par un logiciel en ligne tel que clipconverter, afin de pouvoir les écouter dans les transports ou dans la rue. J'ai exclu un certain nombre de documentaires sensationnalistes ou excessivement partisans ou superficiels. La liste des documentaires ci-dessous n'a rien d'exhaustive : il s'agit de ces émissions que des anonymes ont voulu faire télécharger sur le plateforme. Cette liste est fournie sans garantie : le documentaire télévisé est notoirement partisan comme genre, et de nombreuses questions importantes ne figurent pas dans des documentaires YouTube. Si vous avez visionné d'autres vidéos utiles, j'aimerais bien recevoir les références.
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This is the programme of the day conference we held at Toulon in the South of France in March 2019. I gave a talk on "The meaning of 'underground' and 'mainstream' in 21st century Britain".
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Programme of the conference held in the University of Passau 14- 16 February 2019. I gave a paper on popular articulations in wartime song in Britain 1914-1918.
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This is the programme of the international day conference to be held in Paris on 18 March 2019.
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The programme of the conference held at the University of Rouen on January 25th 2019. The videos of the talks are here : https://webtv.univ-rouen.fr/channels/#2019-symposium-on-the-home-rule-issue-1870-1914
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Programme de la journée d'étude organisée à l'ESPE de Rouen le 6 novembre 2018. Je suis intervenu sur la question de la représentation de l'Autre dans le monde de la chanson populaire.
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Programme du colloque à l'Université de Rouen-Normandie, 16-17 novembre 2018. Organisé par l'équipe ERIAC en collaboration avec l'International Association for the Study of Popular Music, branche francophone d'Europe.
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Conference programme Osnabück September 2018. I gave a presentation: "The Varied Uses of British Wartime Song 1914-1918".
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This conference in Athens in November 2018. My presentation : "How useful were wartime songs, and to whom?"
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Paris 21-23 juin 2018
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This is the full programme of the Annual Meeting 2018 of the American Historical Association, which took place in Washington DC in January 2018, and where I presented "Beyond the Question of Morale: Popular Song in the First World War".
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Université de Rouen, 20 octobre 2017
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The 19th conference of the IASPM, in Kassel, Germany, June 2017
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Programme du colloque qui a eu lieu à Paris du 13 octobre 2016 au 15 octobre 2016
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University of Kent, 27-29 April 2016
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Full programme of the conference which took place 14-15 January at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, Scotland. Includes all abstracts. I intervened at this conference on "Singers and musicians in the union journal The Performer during... more
Full programme of the conference which took place 14-15 January at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, Scotland. Includes all abstracts. I intervened at this conference on "Singers and musicians in the union journal The Performer during World War One".
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Includes abstracts from the conference which took place at Campinas, Brazil, June-July 2015
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Full programme of conference held 29 August 2014 to 2 September 2014, at which I co-organized a panel on "1914".
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Full programme of the conference "War Memories" held in Rennes University in France from the 17th to the 19th June 2014. Includes all abstracts. I gave a paper at this conference on "War memories in British soldier songs".
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University of Burgundy/Université de Bourgogne, France
24-25 October 2013
24-25 October 2013
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This is the full programme of the seminar series held at the Imperial War Museum London in 2010-2011, in the course of which I presented my contribution on "Wartime Music Hall: Myths and Realities".
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Journées d’étude
Contester en chansons, Expressions en marge.
18-19 novembre 2009
Université de Poitiers, France
Contester en chansons, Expressions en marge.
18-19 novembre 2009
Université de Poitiers, France
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Le programme du colloque qui a eu lieu à l'Université de Caen en décembre 2007
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Ever since the genre’s inception, questions of “legitimacy” and “authenticity” have been at the center of hip-hop narratives and analyses. For a long time, journalists and academics considered the genre as an “authentic” expression of... more
Ever since the genre’s inception, questions of “legitimacy” and “authenticity” have been at the center of hip-hop narratives and analyses. For a long time, journalists and academics considered the genre as an “authentic” expression of marginalized, urban populations, which supposedly gained legitimacy when it escaped the ghettos and smuggled its way into major cultural institutions. However, the dynamics that structure hip-hop music and account for its recognition are much more complex. By shedding light on a new wave of hip-hop studies research based on original and diverse research fields, this issue of Volume! considers how such issues of legitimacy and authenticity have influenced the way this music has been practiced and received by a variety of agents, within different spatial and historical contexts, in France as well as in the rest of the world.
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International audienceSummary It has often been suggested that international business English is simplified English, and/or that international business English is bound to lose its cultural roots altogether. Yet in the strategy... more
International audienceSummary It has often been suggested that international business English is simplified English, and/or that international business English is bound to lose its cultural roots altogether. Yet in the strategy discussions of The Economist, a high level of lexical complexity is found. This paper examines the choice of vocabulary in the Economist editorial and proposes explanations for their choices in terms of the need to legitimize their position and discourse.On a souvent suggéré que l'anglais international des affaires est d'une nature simplifiée, et s'est séparé de ses racines culturelles. Pourtant, dans les discussions stratégiques pour les hommes d'affaires dans The Economist, nous avons remarqué une complexité lexicale très marquée. Notre article examine les choix lexicaux dans les éditoriaux de cette revue, et propose des explications possibles dans des termes de légitimation d'un discours
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International audienceThis chapter aims at exploring the large corpus of comic songs performed on the British music hall stage during the Great War. Writings on humour generally begin by declaring how difficult it is to define:... more
International audienceThis chapter aims at exploring the large corpus of comic songs performed on the British music hall stage during the Great War. Writings on humour generally begin by declaring how difficult it is to define: underlining the absurd or unexpected is often considered to be an essential element, while Bergson's classic essay explains that humour is specifically human and social. The therapeutic benefits of laughter are well-documented, yet humour is not thought to be the same everywhere. There have been many attempts to define a specifically British type of humour, relying upon concepts such as deadpan tone, understatement and self-deprecation. Humour can also be part of the identity of the British as a nation, and as such is of course amenable to being integrated into political discourse and strategy. The First World War involved British elites and civil society in an all-out campaign to build enthusiasm among the British people. Was this campaign able to instru...
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In popular song, who is adressing whom and why ? Who is doing what, and why? I would like to present here some initial reflections on experience and communication when consuming popular song (although consuming may not be the best word to... more
In popular song, who is adressing whom and why ? Who is doing what, and why? I would like to present here some initial reflections on experience and communication when consuming popular song (although consuming may not be the best word to use). They are thoughts about what is repetitive, what is participative and what is collective in audience musicking. I will be looking above all at examples where people are singing in groups, but I consider that the individual use of a song – singing along to the radio or to youtube, singing in the shower or whistling, is linked to an imagined collective – I shall come back to this.
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Dans le cadre d'un compte-rendu d'une experience pedagogique manee dans de grandes entreprises de la region parisienne, cet article vise a decrire et evaluer une pedagogie basee sur la simulation des tâches professionnelles dans... more
Dans le cadre d'un compte-rendu d'une experience pedagogique manee dans de grandes entreprises de la region parisienne, cet article vise a decrire et evaluer une pedagogie basee sur la simulation des tâches professionnelles dans les cours d'anglais. Le but avoue est d'enseigner plus precisement ce dont les stagiaires ont besoin dans leur vie professionnelle, mais aussi d'utiliser l'experience que le stagiaire possede de son metier a des fins pedagogiques. Nous regarderons les effets de la methodologie sur la motivation des stagiaires et sur les rapports entre stagiaire et enseignant. Developpees pour servir en entreprise, ces methodes peuvent avoir une application utile en formation initiale
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HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or... more
HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés. L’éducation syndicale en Grande Bretagne John Mullen
Until recently, historians had worked little on popular song in World War One. When mentioned in general or Home Front histories, it tended to be seen only through the prism of military or civilian morale or fighting spirit. My work and... more
Until recently, historians had worked little on popular song in World War One. When mentioned in general or Home Front histories, it tended to be seen only through the prism of military or civilian morale or fighting spirit. My work and that of my colleagues in the last few years, often based on relatively large corpora of several hundred popular songs in each country, has aimed at looking deeper at what song meant in popular culture and lived experience at this time. Significant differences are found between repertoires and processes in different countries, although everywhere live performance and the selling of sheet music are at the centre of the music business, and the record industry is still marginal. Different levels of urbanization lead to different kinds of industry, with more or less concentration of capital giving rise to huge chains of theatres or relatively independent cabaret venues. Touring artiste systems or resident artiste systems affect the repertoire too; lyricis...
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A quoi ressemblait la population anglaise le samedi soir, lorsqu’elle sortait s’amuser durant la Grande Guerre ? Connaissant peu les vacances, vivant bien avant l’avenement de la television ou meme de la radio, elle affectionnait avant... more
A quoi ressemblait la population anglaise le samedi soir, lorsqu’elle sortait s’amuser durant la Grande Guerre ? Connaissant peu les vacances, vivant bien avant l’avenement de la television ou meme de la radio, elle affectionnait avant toute chose le music-hall, divertissement anglais bien distinct de la version parisienne car moins sophistique, plus comique, ne connaissant pas l’amour tragique, et tenant parfois du cirque. Ce livre a pour objet de vous faire gouter a l’ambiance du divertissement anglais pendant la Premiere Guerre mondiale. C’est une epoque doublement eloignee de nous de par le siecle qui a passe, accompagne de ses transformations technologiques ideologiques et affectives, et de par l’epreuve extreme, que nous n’avons pas vecue, de la guerre totale. Nous esperons communiquer un peu la magie du samedi soir, mais aussi expliquer les themes des chansons, et les raisons pour lesquelles ils importaient a nos arriere-grands-parents. Pour ce faire, nous avons deterre un gr...
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Soutenance : 26 novembre 2012. Suite à la soutenance, le diplôme d'Habilitation à diriger des recherches a été décerné à John Mullen par l'Université Paris 7. Université Paris 7, 2012
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International audienceLa canción no debe verse como solamente texto y musica ; se estudia también otros aspectos de-Lo que hace el artista-Lo que hace el publico 2 Mi interrogación : ¿Qué tipo de comunicación se encuentra en esta... more
International audienceLa canción no debe verse como solamente texto y musica ; se estudia también otros aspectos de-Lo que hace el artista-Lo que hace el publico 2 Mi interrogación : ¿Qué tipo de comunicación se encuentra en esta experiencia, de escuchar una canción ?-Origen del problema que me planteo-Ver la canción como teatro participativo 3 Las diferentes posibilidades a) Ejemplos generales b) Hacerse la estrella, ser co-estrella c) Hacerse el cantante, ser co-cantante d) Hacerse el narrador, ser co-narrador (i) Algunos ejemplos corrientes (ii) El teatro participativo de conenso y él que desafia 4 Complejidades y conclusiones
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La vie des Britanniques il y a un siecle etait souvent tres dure. Un quart des Londoniens morts en 1900 furent enterres dans la fosse commune, leurs familles n’ayant pas de quoi payer le plus simple des enterrements. Les couches... more
La vie des Britanniques il y a un siecle etait souvent tres dure. Un quart des Londoniens morts en 1900 furent enterres dans la fosse commune, leurs familles n’ayant pas de quoi payer le plus simple des enterrements. Les couches populaires connaissaient souvent la malnutrition voire la faim. Le chomage etait un danger permanent, et n’etait pas indemnise pour la majorite de la population. La semaine de travail etait generalement de 54 heures, mais souvent bien plus longue. On commencait a travailler a 12 ans, les filles comme domestiques ou dans les usines de textile, les garcons dans l’industrie ou les mines. Comme a toute epoque, le divertissement, et specialement la musique, etait tres important pour toutes les classes sociales. Les couches privilegiees organisaient des concerts chez elles, aidees par leurs domestiques, ou allaient dans les salons de danse. La classe ouvriere rejoignait des fanfares ou des chorales, mais surtout allait au music-hall.
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This book was written by an author with a passion for both music (in particular sacred music but other forms too) and for Dickens. James Lyon is an expert on hymns who has written a series of works on composers such as Sibelius, Vaughan... more
This book was written by an author with a passion for both music (in particular sacred music but other forms too) and for Dickens. James Lyon is an expert on hymns who has written a series of works on composers such as Sibelius, Vaughan Williams and Janacek. It constitutes a sort of encyclopedia of facts and anecdotes about artistic and musical life in London during the lifetime of Charles Dickens, recounted in parallel with his literary production and personal life. The links between these t...
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French popular music is a niche interest outside France, so this dynamic collection of thought-provoking essays on numerous aspects of French popular music processes and repertoires is more than we...
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Research Interests: Art and Popular Music
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This is a pedagogical document illustrating how to write a historical text commentary on an extract from James cook's journal. It was originally prepared in connection with the national examination here in France, the agrégation.