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Bylaws

Music and Media Study Group

American Musicological Society

Prepared by: Dana Plank, Kendra Leonard, Jessica Getman
Date Approved: 12/20/17
Date(s) Amended:

Article I. Name

The group shall be known as the Music and Media Study Group of the American Musicological Society.

Article II. Purpose

The Music and Media Study Group (hereafter, MMSG) seeks to foster the development of scholarship on the interactions of music and media within contexts of history, culture, and identity. The group promotes the scholarly consideration of music and media from all geographies, eras, and traditions, advocating for the recognition and integration of this line of inquiry into academic and public musicological discourse. The MMSG will also seek to:

    • Offer professional and scholarly mentorship opportunities, networking, and collaboration;

    • Provide a forum to further develop our ideas and open intellectual and social dialogue;

    • Share resources, ideas, and avenues for sharing, presenting, publicizing, or publishing our work.

Activities of the MMSG include business meetings and a diverse array of intellectual sessions at AMS Annual Meetings; maintaining an Internet presence, including a bibliography and links of resources; and supporting a method for continued discussion.

Article III. Membership

Membership in the MMSG will be open to any current member of the American Musicological Society who requests it, either through attendance at the annual business meeting or electronically. Membership shall not be restricted according to employment or student status. All members may vote at annual meetings and hold office within the MMSG.

AMS requires Study Groups to keep records of attendees at sessions and meetings, particularly in the first few years of the Study Group’s existence. The number of attendees at Study Group meetings will be recorded annually, and the number of users of any of the Study Group’s online resources (Facebook, listserv, etc.) will also be recorded each year by the Co-Chairs. Any contact information gathered will remain confidential.

Article IV. Officers

The offices of the MMSG shall consist of three Co-Chairs. Officers must be current members of the AMS and of the MMSG at the time of their election and must remain members throughout their term as officers.

    • Co-Chairs:The Co-Chairs shall act as the executive officers of the MMSG, presiding over all meetings of the members and having general management of the affairs of the Study Group, including the power to enforce all orders and resolutions passed by the members. The Co-Chairs will serve as full voting members of the Program Committee. Other duties may from time to time be delegated to the Chair by standing or ad hoc committees, and the Co-Chairs may from time to time delegate responsibilities to standing or ad hoc committees. The Co-Chairs may also volunteer to serve on any standing or ad-hoc committees.
      • Co-Chair #1 (Elected on Odd Years): The outgoing chair will serve as the officer in charge of official communication with the AMS (including sending reports after annual meetings), scheduling the annual study group sessions, attending the annual AMS study group chair meeting, and sending any and all requested information in for inclusion on the program for the Annual Meeting. The outgoing chair will also serve to mentor the other chairs and ensure for smooth transition between roles. Co-Chair #1 will also serve as a full voting member of the Program Committee. Other duties may be assigned by the MMSG, or its constituent standing or ad hoc committees, and Co-Chair #1 may volunteer to serve on any standing or ad hoc committees.
      • Co-Chair #2 (Elected on Even Years): The incumbent chair chair will additionally serve as the group’s Secretary. They will keep minutes of the business meetings, send out minutes to the members of the MMSG within two (2) weeks of the Annual Meeting of the Society, preside over elections by calling for nominations, administering balloting, and tallying votes. The MMSG Secretary shall also serve as the non-voting Chair of the Program Committee, and will be responsible for collecting responses to CFPs, removing identifying data, sending out proposals to the Program Committee, collecting and aggregating scores, and making the scores available to the Committee so that they may come to a vote on the final program. Other duties may be assigned by the MMSG, or its constituent standing or ad hoc committees, and Co-Chair #2 may volunteer to serve on any standing or ad hoc committees.

        • Co-Chair #3 (Elected on Odd Years): The incoming chair will serve as the Social Media Liaison and webmaster for the first year of service, maintaining the website and email list for the membership of the MMSG and posting relevant information and material of potential use or interest to the MMSG members to the MMSG’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Co-Chair #3 will also serve as a full voting member of the Program Committee, and a de facto member of the Liaisons Committee. Other duties may be assigned by the MMSG, or its constituent standing or ad hoc committees, and Co-Chair #3 may volunteer to serve on any standing or ad hoc committees.

    • Members At-Large: Members At-Large serve as full voting members of the Program Committee, and members of the Liaisons Committee. Other duties may be assigned to the Members-At-Large by the Co-Chairs, the MMSG, or its constituent standing or ad hoc committees, and the Members At-Large may volunteer to serve on any standing or ad hoc committees.

Terms of Office: Co-Chairs shall serve three-year staggered terms; serving as Co-Chair #3 in the first year of their tenure, Co-Chair #2 in the second year, and Co-Chair #1 in the final year of their service. Officers are eligible for re-election. No individual may serve more than three (3) consecutive terms in the same office. A term begins immediately after the conclusion of the annual meeting during which the election took place. The terms for each office are as follows:

    • Co-Chair 1: Elected in odd years, in the third year of their term.

    • Co-Chair 2: Elected in even years, in the second year of their term.

    • Co-Chair 3: Elected in odd years, serving a term of three (3) years.

    • At-large Member 1: Elected or Appointed each year, serving a term of one (1) year

    • At-large Member 2: Elected or Appointed each year, serving a term of one (1) year

    • At-large Member 3: Elected or Appointed each year, serving a term of one (1) year

Nominations and Elections: Elections will be held each year at the MMSG business meeting during the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society.

    • Nominations: Co-Chair #2 will accept nominations and self-nominations from eight (8) weeks before the Annual Meeting to the Monday before the Annual Meeting. If no nominations for an office were received in that nomination period, then candidates may be nominated from the floor at the MMSG Business Meeting during the Annual Meeting of the Society, when initial voting will take place.

    • Ballots: Online ballots shall be cast via SurveyMonkey or other comparable platform. Initial ballots will be cast in person at the MMSG business meeting during the Annual Meeting of the Society. Co-Chair #2 will also announce and provide a link to the ballot via the MMSG website and social media accounts, and members can then vote for up to two (2) weeks following the Business Meeting. In the event of an uncontested election, no ballots will be necessary, and a voice vote will be used instead; see item 5 below.

    • Election: Officers shall be elected by a plurality of votes of the total membership; a quorum (defined as 4 members, per Article VI, below) is necessary for a valid vote. (In the absence of a quorum, an electronic ballot, in the form of a run-off election, will render a vote valid). The Co-Chair #2 shall tally the results of the election. In the event of a tie vote, a run-off election will be held electronically and completed no later than four (4) weeks after the Annual Meeting; Co-Chair #2 will collect and verify the ballots. Election results will be announced by six (6) weeks after the Annual Meeting via the MSSG website and social media accounts.

    • Voice Vote: In the case of an election in which a candidate runs unopposed, a voice vote at the business meeting may be utilized to confirm election of the candidate.

Article V. Committees

Standing and ad-hoc committees of the MMSG may be created by a majority vote at the business meeting.

Membership: Committees shall consist of no fewer than three members, and the terms of all committee members shall be specified at the time of appointment. All committee terms shall begin and end at an annual business meeting. The Co-Chairs of the MMSG may appoint either just the committee chair (who will then solicit members) or both the committee chair and committee members. The Co-Chairs of the MMSG or another MMSG Officer shall serve as ex officio members of all committees.

Program Committee: The Program Committee will organize panels, sessions, and activities at each Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society that serve and promote the interests of both the MMSG and the American Musicological Society membership at large. The Program Committee shall consist of the MMSG Co-Chairs and Members At-Large. The MMSG Co-Chair #2 shall serve as the non-voting Chair of the Program Committee, and will be responsible for collecting responses to CFPs, removing identifying data, sending out proposals to the Program Committee, collecting and aggregating scores, and making the scores available to the Committee so that they may come to a vote on the final program.

Liaisons Committee: The Liaisons Committee is made up of individuals who have professional affiliations with other relevant societies (e.g. MLA, SMT, SEM, et al.); their duties are to act as conduits for sharing information (conference announcements, etc.). Members of the Liaisons Committee will work with Co-Chair #3 in disseminating pertinent information via the MMSG website and social media accounts.

Ad-Hoc Committees: Other committees may be organized to address specific needs of the MMSG, either in response to requests by the membership or by Co-Chair proposal. Ad-hoc committees shall dissolve after completing their mandate or shall become standing committees through an amendment to these By-Laws.

Article VI. Activities

Business Meeting: The Co-Chairs of the MMSG will schedule a business meeting during the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society. At least four (4) members must be present at the meeting to constitute a quorum. At the business meeting, the Co-Chairs will update membership on the recent activities of the group and propose any initiatives for the upcoming year, and all officers and standing and ad-hoc committees may present brief reports.

Business meetings shall be planned in advance with an agenda circulated to members at least one (1) week before the start of the AMS annual meeting. Any agenda items proposed during the meeting must be germane either to the rules of order governing the meeting or to the substance of the agenda; all other new business shall be considered only after the completion of the scheduled business meeting.

Program: The Officers of the MMSG will organize one program of interest at the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society. The program may take the form of a paper session, panel, workshop, open demo, or any other format at the discretion of the Program Committee. If the program consists of papers or alternate format presentations, they shall be solicited with a general Call for Papers/Presentations, publicized through official and unofficial channels (e.g., the website, email lists, AMS-announce, and share via social media) and evaluated anonymously by the Program Committee.

Article VII : Amendments

Amendments to these By-Laws may be proposed to the Chair by any member, not later than two (2) weeks before the beginning of the Annual Meeting of the Society. Proposed amendments shall be made known to the Study Group membership at least one (1) week before the business meeting of the MMSG; they shall be placed on the agenda of that meeting for discussion, possible revision, and a vote. For an amendment to be approved, it must receive two-thirds of the ballots cast by members attending the MMSG business meeting during the Annual Meeting of the Society.