The Vibe as Peace: EDMC Conflict Studies and Montreal Psytrance Spheres
Dancecult November 16, 2020 DOI: 10.12801/1947-5403.2020.12.01.11 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractPeace is often discussed in electronic dance music culture as a harmonious, communal experience, but this view overlooks the productive role of conflict. Drawing on Peter Sloterdijk's spherology and observations of Montreal's psytrance scenes, this paper argues that conflict—both within the dance floor vibe and outside it—can be creative and formative. It offers a framework for understanding how peace and conflict dynamics on dance floors shape broader global cultural formations, providing observers and practitioners with tools to discuss these tensions.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Political science |
| Key finding | Argues that dominant moral and modern conceptions of peace and conflict are limited for understanding the inevitable conflict dynamics in electronic dance music scenes, and proposes an alternative framework based on spherology and peace studies. |
Abstract
While discourses of peace abound in cultural, youth and EDMC studies, notably in relation to concepts like communitas, the dominant moral and modern conceptions of peace and conflict appear limited to tackling the inevitable conflict dynamics inside parties and around the vibe as a peak experience. Inspired by contemporary peace studies, Peter Sloterdijk's psychopolitical-morphological argument known as spherology and participation in Montreal's psytrance scenes, this paper offers an alternative understanding of productive conflicts at work in the vibe and outside of it. At the end, this paper seeks to offer observers and practitioners means to discuss the various peace-conflict dynamics nascent on dance floors with effects on global cultural formations.