A Response to Peter Cooke’s Response

Abstract

Abstract In the spirit of scholarly dialogue about issues of common concern, we would like to respond to Peter Cooke’s critique of our article “The Audible Future: Reimagining the Role of Sound Archives and Sound Repatriation in Uganda” (Ethnomusicology 56:2). His comments appear to be based on misunderstandings of our statements and on personal interpretations with which we take issue. We did not state in the article that Wachsmann mistreated or infringed on the rights of the people of Uganda. We highly respect and continue to honor the contributions of Klaus Wachsmann as a scholar, collector, and curator of Ugandan music. Indeed, it is because of the great respect for Wachsmann, and the hard work he did to preserve the great wealth of Uganda’s musical culture, that the Makerere University Klaus Wachsmann Music Archive (MAKWMA) was named after him. Our goal was for readers to reflect on the theoretical premises, ethnographic practices, and ethical standards that informed Wachsmann’s field recordings. How can Wachsmann’s “motivations, preferences, and limitations” help us to understand those premises, practices, and standards (p. 208)? Wachsmann’s work in Uganda raises issues about a particular time and place in the history of ethnomusicology, and it is in the spirit of historical and cultural critique that we wrote the article.