This weekend the Society for Ethnomusicology will hold its 60th annual meeting in Austin, Texas. As always, we’re excited that Musiqology will be represented. Managing Editor, Fredara M. Hadley and Musiqology contributors Alisha Lola Jones and Birgitta Johnson will all be making presentations this weekend.
The first panel we mention, “Black Music Matters” will be available for live stream through the SEM website.
Black Music Matters: A Candid Conversation About the State of Black Music
Since 2014, the “BlackLivesMatter” hashtag has urged a deep critique of the value and status of black lives in the U.S. The initiative was galvanized by tragic events involving the deaths of unarmed black men and reaction of the criminal justice system and mainstream society to these events. The gap between perception and reality became tenuous and shaky as the nation paused to take stock of various aspects of Black life in the U.S. Inspired by this movement that focuses on the physical value of black lives, participants of this roundtable will consider the cultural value of blacks in America by way of black music scenes. Participants of the roundtable will consider the threats and challenges to black music scenes as well as the strength of black music and its ability to serve as an expression of black life in the wake of renewed interest in race relations in America. What are the implications of these enduring race issues on black music today? Topics on the table will include the ability of contemporary music to respond to real issues such as sexism and racism, the state of commercial and socially conscious hip hop, the appropriation of black music by mainstream America and by global populations, black music scholarship, and funding opportunities for black scholars.
Participants:
Fredara Hadley, Oberlin Conservatory (@fredaraMareva)
Eileen Hayes (Towson University)
Fernando Orejuela, Indiana University
Stephanie Shonekan, University of Missouri (Chair)
Other key SEM panels include:
Thursday, December 3
1:30-3:30
3F
Room 415B
Fiery Horizons in Black Musical Cultures: Contemporary Blurrings of the Sacred and Secular in Sound and Sense
1:30 Sexy For Jesus: Contemporary Gospel Music Performance in the New Millennium
Charrise Barron, Harvard University
2:00 Thugs Have Souls Too: An Examination of the “Gospel” of R. Kelly and the Formation of
an Urban Theology of Redemption, Tammy Kernodle, Miami University of Ohio
2:30 Ragga Soca Burning the Moral Compass: An Analysis of ‘Hell Fire’ Lyrics in the Music of
Bunji Garlin, Meagan Sylvester, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine
3:00 The Gospel of Beyoncé: Religious Remixes of the Ultra Secular in the Social Media Age
Birgitta Johnson, University of South Carolina (Chair)
Saturday, December 5
Hot Buttered Soul: The Role of Musicmaking and Foodways in Building and Sustaining African American Communities
Chair: Alisha Jones, Indiana University
8:30 A Taste of Home: Celebrating Music and Food in a Southern Rural Religious Community Mellonee Burnim, Indiana University
9:00 “I Don’t Want No Peanut Butter and Jelly”: Food Fasting as a Symbol of Community in Gospel Performance Alisha Jones, Indiana University
9:30 A Taste of Soul: Experiencing Black Life Through Food and Music Tyron Cooper, Indiana University
10:00 Discussant Clara Henderson, Indiana University
Sunday, December 6
8:30-10:30am
11C
Room 404
Vocal Godliness: Gospel in Black and White
Chair: Elyse Carter Vosen, College of St. Scholastica
8:30 Whoopin’, Singin’, and Shoutin’: The Crossroads of the African Black Gospel Singing Terri Brinegar, University of Florida
9:00 White as Snow: Performances of Whiteness in Depression Era C. Megan MacDonald, Florida State University
9:30 Thy Kingdom Come: Gospel Music’s Transition From a Black I Cory W. Hunter, Princeton University
10:00 “Music Down in My Soul”: Black Musical Aesthetic and Culture Performance of Moses Hogan Spirituals, Loneka Battiste, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
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