Approaches to Musical Ethnography (ETH 480)

What does it mean to do musical ethnography? What kinds of insights and knowledge does ethnography afford about musical practice and musical cultures? What risks and challenges does ethnography pose, for both the ethnographer and her informants?  What is the relationship between research methods – and the choices it entails – and the production of knowledge?

These questions will guide our reading, discussions, and actions this semester. To address them, we will read texts that critically reflect on ethnography as a method and a lens; texts that hone in on a specific ethnographic research technique; and exemplary ethnographic monographs that highlight the play between research and writing, methods and theory. At the same time, we will carry out weekly hands-on ethnographic assignments and spend time in class both preparing and debriefing these exercises. In doing so, we will develop a lived and critical understanding of ethnography as an important methodology for gaining insight into the “complexity of (musical) knowing and being” (“A Guide to Feminist Pedagogy, Vanderbilt University).