Dean Ken Paulson, professor
Mike Alleyne among featured speakers in Manchester
MANCHESTER,
England — Professors from MTSU’s College
of Media and Entertainment were among featured speakers at a conference of the
late singer Prince’s life and legacy held at the University of Salford in
England.
Dean Ken
Paulson and professor Mike Alleyne from MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry on May 24 joined academic leaders from across the world at
the conference, which convened in Manchester less than two days after the
terror attack at the Ariana Grande concert.
The event,
co-sponsored by MTSU and the University of Salford, paid tribute to the Minneapolis-born
funk legend, who died last April. It was thought to be the first-ever
conference dedicated solely to Prince and his work.
Academics from New York University, Harvard University, Stanford
University and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as from the University of
Amsterdam and from Australia, Canada and New Zealand discussed Prince’s impact
on popular culture.
The conference came about due to the work of Alleyne and Kirsty
Fairclough, senior lecturer from the University of Salford’s School of Arts and
Media.
“After Prince’s sudden demise last year, Kirsty and I began discussing
ways to recognize his creative and cultural legacies,” said Alleyne, who
has written extensively on popular music and acted as consultant to the estate
of Marvin Gaye in the “Blurred Lines”
copyright infringement case.
“Ultimately, we decided an academic conference would be an ideal
vehicle.”
Paulson interviewed from the stage Dez Dickerson, who sang backing
vocals and played guitar in Prince’s original band. They discussed Dickerson’s
experiences touring and recording with the star.
Dickerson, who performed on tracks such as “1999” and “Little Red Corvette,” also took questions from the audience.
“It was a pleasure to explore Prince’s musical history with Dez
Dickerson, a man who was there at the beginning of the artist’s creative
ascendance,” Paulson said.
The conference concluded May 26.
MTSU’s College of Media and Entertainment
embraces an extraordinarily wide range of media. Its students pursue educations
in journalism, public relations, broadcasting, film, animation, photography,
the music business, audio engineering and songwriting, among other rich and
rewarding fields.
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