Ethnomusicology Today

In this episode, we discuss the 2023 SEM Conference with local arrangement committee co-chairs, Dr. Anna Hoefnagels (Carleton University) and Dr. Judith Klassen (Canada Museum of Natural History), along with committee member Charlotte Stewart-Juby (Carleton University).

In this episode, we discuss environmentalism and Haitian music culture with Rebecca Dirksen. By investigating how colonialism and deforestation are related, Rebecca investigates how colonialism and dictatorship affect not only the landscape, but also the musical soul of Haiti. This conversation was recorded in the spring of 2021, prior to the assassination of Jovenel Moise in July 2021.

On October 27, the Society for Ethnomusicology will open its 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting with a pre-conference symposium Celebrating Historically Black Colleges and Universities' (HBCUs) Musical Legacy: An Exploration of Relationships Between HBCUs and the Society for Ethnomusicology. In this episode we talk with pre-conference co-chairs, Loneka Battiste and Fredara Hadley, about musical life at HBCUs, the work of members of the Gertrude Robinson Network, and supporting sustained conversations among HBCUs and the Society for Ethnomusicology.

In this episode, Eduardo Herrera and Michael O’Brien discuss their research into collective music making in Argentina. Grounded in a discussion of Argentina’s 2018 “Hit of the Summer,” this episodes examines the possibilities for political action and issues of toxic masculinity within participatory musicking practices of Argentinian soccer chants and neighborhood-based Murga ensembles.

In this episode we talk with Emaeyak Sylvanus about his article, “Prefiguring as an Indigenous Narrative Tool in Nigerian Cinema: An Ethnomusicological Reading,” which was published in the Summer 2019 issue of the journal Ethnomusicology. A pioneering researcher on Nollywood film music, Emaeyak explores localized musical concepts that dominate Nigerian film narratives. Grounded in his understanding of a narrative technique he terms “prefiguring,” Emaeyak discusses the 2014 film “Ekaette Goes to School” as a case study for exploring how indigenous meanings are negotiated within the global cinema landscape from which the contemporary Nigerian film industry has emerged.

Emaeyak Sylvanus is a senior lecturer in the Department of Music at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. A pioneering scholar on Nollywood film music, his research has appeared in journals across multiple disciplines, including music, cinema, and communication studies. His recent article, “The Relevance of Music to African Commuting Practices: The Nigerian Experience,” is available in the April 2020 issue of the journal, Contemporary Music Review.