An Interdisciplinary Conference June 2 – 3, 2020 Minneapolis, MN
Conference Program
Hosted by The School of Arts and Media, University of Salford, UK
Organized by Dr. Kirsty Fairclough, School of Arts and Media, University of Salford Kristen Zschomler, Minneapolis-based historian and writer, Sound History, LLC
Conference Program 78-88 Prince, The First Decade: An Interdisciplinary Conference June 2-3, 2020
Robert J. Jones Urban Research & Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC) 2001 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis MN 55411
JUNE 2, 2020
REGISTRATION AND BREAKFAST (8:30-9:00am)
WELCOME Dr. Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford and Chair of the Conference Organizing Committee (9:00-9:10am)
OPENING REMARKS Dr. Elliott Powell, Professor of American Studies, University of Minnesota (9:10-9:30am)
The People’s Museum for Prince at UROC: Capturing the Fan’s Stories of Prince, by Dr. Emma Balázs, Professor of Museum Studies, George Mason University, and Curator of The People’s Museum of Prince (9:30-9:50am)
Giving Back to Prince: Sound 80 Fundraiser, by Kristen Zschomler, Sound History, LLC and Purple Genealogy (9:50-10:00am)
BREAK (10:00-10:15am)
IMAGE/STYLE/MYSTIQUE (10:15am -12:00pm; Room 105) • Conjuring the Prince Mystique, by De Angela L. Duff (10:15-10:35) • “News from Nowhere”: Paisley Park as Place and Meaning, by Arlene Oak (10:35-10:55) • “Do I Believe in God?”: The Media’s Depiction of Prince’s Spirituality (1978-1988), by Erica Thompson (10:55-11:15) • Prince’s Life in the Music of Parade/Sign O’ The Times, by Duane Tudahl (11:15-11:35) • Discussion (11:35-12:00)
SEXUALITY/GENDER/FEMINISM (10:15am -12:00pm; Room 107) • Dirty Mind and Controversy: Creating A Queer Icon, by Chris Aguilar-Garcia (10:15-10:35) • Private Joy and Purple Sexology, by Annie Potts (10:35-10:55) • An Erotic Supreme: The Lyrical Sexual Politics of Prince Rogers Nelson, by W. Russell Robinson and Kimberly R. Moffitt (10:55-11:15) • Discussion (11:15-12:00)
LUNCH 12:00-1:00pm, Main Gallery
IMAGE/STYLE/MYSTIQUE (con’t; 1:00-3:00pm, Room 105) • Prince and Me: How I Became Prince, by Scott Bogen (1:00-1:20) • “Old Friends 4 Sale”: The Cinematic Afterlife of Prince’s 1980s Hits, by Arthur Lizie (1:20-1:40)
78 -88 Prince, The First Decade: An Interdisciplinary Conference June 2-3, 2020
• Undressing Prince Rogers Nelson: Bodywear, Adornment, and Masculinities, 1978-1988, by Casci Ritchie (1:40 - 2:00) • Punk, Paisleys, and Polkadots: Prince and the Evolution of Iconic Style, by Robin Shumays (2:00- 2:20) • Discussion (2:20-3:00)
SEXUALITY/GENDER/FEMINISM (con’t; 1:00-3:00pm, Room 107) • "Take me Baby… I'm Yours": Prince as Your Ultimate Lover, by Racheal Harris (1:00 - 1:20) • Gender-Bending and Altered Voices: Prince, Camille, and the Opera Canon, by Twila Perry (1:20 - 1:40) • Prince, Michael, and Camille - Androgyny in the Age of MTV, by Casey Rain (1:40 - 2:00) • Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife: A Feminist Critique of Purple Rain, by Marcus Thomas (2:00 - 2:20) • Sitting in the Bath with My Pants On: Non-Binary Identity in Prince’s Recording Studio 1978-1988, by Mike Wyeld and Chopin Gard (2:20 - 2:40) • Discussion (2:40-3:00)
BREAK (3:00 - 3:15pm)
UNDER THE CHERRY MOON (3:15-5:00pm, Room 105) • Parade: La Recherché De Nouveaux Sons, by Sam Coley (3:15 - 3:35) • Once Upon a Time in France: The Black Expatriate Tradition in Under the Cherry Moon and Sign 'O' The Times, by Keith Corson (3:35-3:55) • Vous êtes très belle: Recontextualizing the Myth of French Utopia in Prince’s Under the Cherry Moon, by Karen Turman (3:55-4:15) • Eavesdropping with Tricky: Listening In On Friendship Under the Cherry Moon, by Sherry Wien (4:15-4:35) • Discussion (4:35-5:00)
INVERTING THE LENS: FANDOM (3:15-5:00pm, Room 107) • A Phenomenological Study of Prince Fandom: Identity, Intimacy, and Idolatry, by Julie Beauregard (3:15 - 3:35) • Prince and the Fan Fiction World: The Early Years (Was I What You Wanted Me to Be?), by Julie Billong (3:35 - 3:55) • “Take Me with U”: Prince as Revelation and Inspiration, by Chris Foss (3:55 - 4:15) • When Did You Fall in Love with Prince: An Examination of the Inception of Prince Fandom and Influence, by Leah S. McDaniel and Shannan Wilson (4:15-4:35) • Discussion (4:35-5:00)
JUNE 3, 2020
BREAKFAST 8:00-8:30am
PRESENTATION: Prince: The First Decade...Was Just the Beginning (8:30-8:50am), by Eloy Lasanta, host of Prince's Friend YouTube channel
PANEL: Prince on the Printed Page, The First Decade (8:50-10:00am) Moderator: Eloy Lasanta 78 -88 Prince, The First Decade: An Interdisciplinary Conference June 2-3, 2020
Panel Members: Neal Karlen (former contributing editor for Rolling Stone and author of the forthcoming book Formerly Known As: The 4-Real Life of Prince, On and Off the Record), Andrea Swensson (author of Got to Be Something Here), Laura Tiebert (co-author of The Rise of Prince: 1958-1988), and Duane Tudahl (author of Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 and forthcoming Prince and the Parade and Sign "O" the Times Era Studio Sessions: 1985 to 1986 )
BREAK 10:00-10:15am
RACE/POLITICS/ACTIVISM/ARTISTIC FREEDOM (10:15am-12:00pm, Room 105) ● Others Here With Us: Examining Prince’s Relationship with His Black Audience, by Kamilah Cummings (10:15-10:35) ● “If U Set Your Mind Free, Baby, Maybe U’d Understand” What We Can All Learn from Prince about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, by Ian Jackson (10:35 - 10:55) ● Rockhard in a Funky Place: Prince and the Black American Working Class 1986-1988, by Robert Loss (10:55-11:15) ● A Prince Black Aesthetic and the Rhythm and Blues Imagination, by Robert J. Patterson (11:15- 11:35) ● Discussion (11:35-12:00)
MUSICAL EVOLUTION (10:15-12:00; Room 107) ● From Dirty Mind to Dirty Computer: Prince’s Profound Influence on Janelle Monáe, by Natalie Clifford (10:15-10:35) ● The Evolution of Purple: How the Minneapolis Sound Changed in Its First Decade, by Maciej Smółka (10:35-10:55) ● Madhouse, Prince, and Miles: Jazz and Pop Interplay in the 1980s, by Zach Stiegler (10:55-11:15) ● From the Black Album to Lovesexy: Using James Baldwin to Explore “Hundalasiliah!,” Prince’s Joyful Exaltation, by Crystal N. Wise (11:15-11:35) ● Discussion (11:35-12:00)
LUNCH - 12:00-1:00pm, Main Gallery
RACE/POLITICS/ACTIVISM/ARTISTIC FREEDOM (con’t., 1:00-3:00pm, Room 105) ● "Teacher, Why Won’t Jimmy Pledge Allegiance?”: Prince as Citizen, by Zaheer Ali (1:00-1:20) ● Prince and the Political: Why Does Everybody Have a Bomb?, by Rhiannon Jackson Dalglish (1:20- 1:40) ● Prince and the Post-Civil Rights Era Black Popular Music Aesthetic, by Matthew Valnes (1:40-2:00) ● Purple Music and Pleasure Activism, by Felicia Holman (2:00-2:20) ● Discussion (2:20-3:00)
MUSICAL EVOLUTION (con’t., 1:00-3:00pm; Room 107) ● A Purple Paisley Haze: The Beatles, Hendrix, and P-Funk in Prince’s Psychedelia, by Katie Kapurch and Jon Marc Smith (1:00-1:20) ● Prince by Numbers: A Computational Study of Prince’s Creativity (with Emphasis on the First Decade), by Darryle Merlette (1:20-1:40) ● “Ladies and gentlemen…the Evolution”: How Prince Utilized Technology to Create His Magnum Opus, Purple Rain, by Michael Ugrich (1:40-2:00) ● Discussion (2:00-2:30)
78 -88 Prince, The First Decade: An Interdisciplinary Conference June 2-3, 2020
BREAK 3:00-3:15pm
CONFERENCE DISCUSSION (3:15-3:45pm, Room 105) Dr. Arun Saldanha, Professor of Geography and organizer of Prince From Minneapolis symposium (2018), University of Minnesota; and Dr. Kirsty Fairclough ● Q & A, and discussion of conference and the future of Prince studies
CLOSING EVENT Sponsored by the 78-88: Prince the First Decade Organizing Committee, Purple Genealogy, and Orfield Labs
Conference registration includes a tour of the Historic Sound 80 Studio and entrance to A Purple Night dance party with DJ Lenka Paris.
● Tours at Historic Sound 80, where Prince recorded his demo tapes and part of his debut album. Led by local Minneapolis music historian Kristen Zschomler, Sound History, LLC. 4:30-8:00pm
o PLEASE NOTE: There is a business in downtown Minneapolis called Sound 80. DO NOT Google that address! The correct address to Google is “Orfield Laboratories at 2709 East 25th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55406”.
● A Purple Night dance party with DJ Lenka Paris hosted by Purple Genealogy. Specialty drinks (cash bar) and hors d'oeuvres.(Location to be announced.) 7:00-11:00pm
All proceeds from the closing event go to the restoration of Sound 80, which is being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and will reopen as a recording studio in 2020.
Catering for the conference and closing event provided by Breaking Bread, a non-profit, social enterprise restaurant and catering service in North Minneapolis offering fresh and flavorful global, comfort foods while supporting a social mission and vision.
78 -88 Prince, The First Decade: An Interdisciplinary Conference June 2-3, 2020