Mark Hsiang-Yu Feng—Guest Editor

University of California, Davis

Hannah Snavely

University of California, Riverside

Garrett Groesbeck

Wesleyan University

We are thrilled to present the latest issue of Rising Voices in Ethnomusicology. As we continue our transition from a newsletter to a student journal, we seek to showcase the work of graduate and undergraduate scholars engaged in advancing diversity and activism—values fundamental to our discipline. We are also honored to feature professional contributions from senior scholars whose work exemplifies activist-scholarly engagement. For this issue, we welcomed Mark Hsiang-Yu Feng, a PhD candidate in Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Davis, as Guest Editor for the issue. This approach reflects a shared vision of ethnomusicology as an inclusive, collaborative field of research dedicated to advancing social justice in the study of music. 

Our issue about “diversity and activism” emerges at a critical juncture amidst ongoing discussions about the roles of students in our discipline and in higher education more broadly. The current global, political, and social upheavals require us to question the nuanced intersections between professional positionalities and broader social responsibilities. Responding to this call, the articles in this issue present a wide range of musical and scholarly endeavors to tackle colonialism, systemic inequality, and various forms of discrimination. 

Graduate student contributors demonstrate the movement towards decolonial scholarship through their interrogation of the popular music industry and push for research rooted in activism. Kabelo Chirwa reflects on his in-between roles in conducting ethnographic fieldwork in the Nigerian popular music industry and the impact of imperial violence and market capitalism on Nigerian musicians. Batya Devorah Kline discusses the relationship of North American Transgender anti-Zionist Jewish community members to their voices and their audible participation in protests and Jewish rituals. Hossein Filizadeh examines how Persian rap music in the Iranian popular music scene builds on United States-based hip-hop as an innovative means of political expression that cultivates resilience among the youth generation. Jiaqi Li documents the cultural hybridity in the Islamic muslim community in Guangzhou, China.

Taking advantage of our digital format, we have also been impressed by the response to our creative submissions category, paralleling trends in peer-reviewed publications such as the Journal of Audiovisual Ethnomusicology. Cody Case’s documentary film project on the Black resistance of Blocos Afro in Salvador, Brazil, demonstrates that ethnomusicological fieldwork can engage in activism by fostering an ongoing, reciprocal exchange between the ethnographer and their collaborators. Aibek Baiymbetov discusses the ethnographic experience of studying the Kyrgyz epic Manas through the prism of creative documentary as a researcher and filmmaker. Nerda Khara suggests the importance of drawing as a research methodology in ethnochoreology in order to prioritize anonymity and protect religious minorities in the field. These contributions reflect a commitment to navigating emerging scholarly identity that centers on advancing social justice.

Featured student submissions from our lively Writing Challenge inspire us to laugh and cry alongside them with their untold fieldwork stories. Fiona Boyd vulnerably parallels the grief of her grandmother’s passing with the sounding out of obituaries over radio airwaves in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Phil Yetman recounts a “wee yarn” about a time he got stuck, well, taking a wee in a bathroom and had to call upon his interlocutor for assistance. Tanya Landau questions what a box of tapes tells her about her ancestors’ musical pasts, and how they have shaped her academic and personal present.  

For the first time, we will also include articles contributed by undergraduate students. Rising Voices now offers students to have research published before they enter graduate school and to receive feedback on their work from scholars beyond their home institution. We were met with overwhelming interest in undergraduates publishing with us, demonstrating that they are seeking publishing infrastructures within our discipline. Antara Bhattacharyay analyzes how Bengali folk music genre, lokgeeti, by singer-songwriter Smritikana Howlader create a counter-hegemonic Dalit historiography that informs contemporary resistance and the deconstruction of caste hierarchies in the Bengal Dalit Literary Movement in the 1970s. Calistha Gunawan explores how music and religion serve as liminal resources of emotional and spiritual guidance during transitional and challenging periods of Chinese Indonesian immigration within Philadelphia. João Rocha suggests minimizing the boundary between historical musicology and ethnomusicology to deconstruct hierarchized notions of music scholarship. We were excited by the response to this call for submissions, and by the strong interest in ethnomusicological writing among undergraduate as well as graduate students.

This issue includes three Dear SEM letters discussing interventions and commitments across the study of music. Philip Ewell critiques the lack of historical and cultural awareness in the field of North American music theory, advocating for a more inclusive approach to music analysis that bridges critical musicology and ethnomusicology. Klisala Harrison states that as ethnomusicologists increasingly encounter environmental and social toxicities at work, it is vital to centralize mindful self-care practice, health, and well-being awareness, among other protective measures in doing ethnomusicology, further noting that cultivating solidarity should be a goal for scholars and activists. David McDonald and Associate Editor Eloy Neira de la Cadena call for stronger accountability to ongoing injustices in our world, leveraging their institutional status and power for the betterment of society. Decolonization cannot exist as written scholarly literature but, more importantly, requires action. Across each letter, the contributors emphasize the importance of supporting our colleagues by utilizing our scholarly expertise to establish reciprocity both domestically and internationally. 

Finally, we extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who made this issue possible. The extensive response to our call for submissions indicates the significance of these topics to students in ethnomusicology today. While we were unable to include every voice, we deeply value the perspectives shared with us. As reflected in the title of this publication, cultivating rising voices, including all editors, staff, and contributors, has always been our primary goal. With solidarity, we continue to learn, grow, and envision a polyphonic future for ethnomusicology—one that uses the study of music as a tool for meaningful change in this challenging time.

Be well, 

Mark Hsiang-Yu Feng, Hannah Snavely, and Garrett Groesbeck