Transforming Ethnomusicology, Volume I: Methodologies, Institutional Structures & Policies ed. by Beverley Diamond and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco, and: Transforming Ethnomusicology, Volume II: Political, Social & Ecological Issues by Beverley Diamond and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco

Abstract

Reviewed by: Transforming Ethnomusicology, Volume I: Methodologies, Institutional Structures & Policies ed. by Beverley Diamond and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco, and: Transforming Ethnomusicology, Volume II: Political, Social & Ecological Issues by Beverley Diamond and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco Aurélie Solenne Gandour Transforming Ethnomusicology, Volume I: Methodologies, Institutional Structures & Policies. Edited by Beverley Diamond and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. [viii, 272 p. ISBN 978-0-19-751760-4 (hardback); ISBN 978-0-19-751761-1 (paperback) £25.49; ISBN 978-0-19-751763-5 (e-pub)] Transforming Ethnomusicology, Volume II: Political, Social & Ecological Issues. Edited by Beverley Diamond and Salwa El-Shawan Castelo-Branco. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. [viii, 260 p. ISBN 978-0-19-751755-0 (hardback); ISBN 978-0-19-751756-7 (paperback) £25.49; ISBN 978-0-19-751758-1 (e-pub)] Over the last few decades, ethnomusicology has been experiencing a transformation in its theories, in its methodologies, and in its intent to impact the communities ethnomusicologists work with, contributing to social change. This connecting thread of transformation links the twenty-three chapters found in the two volumes of this important book. It runs through the diversity of authors represented, as demonstrated in the position statements they offer at the end of the volumes, where they explain what moved them to conduct applied research. It runs through the diversity of methodologies presented, from critical activist ethnomusicology to participatory action research to the concept of witnessing. It also scours through its numerous appeals to change, to true epistemological plurality, to new processes of ethical review, to leaning into a productive discomfort from which new insights may stem. The first volume focuses on transformation in methodologies, institutional structures, and policies, whereas the second looks at political, social, and ecological issues. The origins of the two volumes are the 2015 joint conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology (SEM), the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM), and the European Seminar in Ethnomusicology (ESE). In his chapter, Svanibor Pettan offers a detailed comparison of SEM and ICTM, tracing their history and highlighting both their differences and complementarity. This historical and descriptive approach is adopted by three other chapters, forming a strong introduction to the topic of the book. First, Diamond and Castelo-Branco offer a detailed literature review of socially engaged research approaches. Tony Seeger then introduces the history of anthropology, highlighting possible pitfalls that applied ethnomusicology could learn from, and offering insightful directions as to how to avoid them. Finally, Luke Eric Lassiter explores the history of collaborative ethnography, arguing that it deserves closer attention and a nuanced understanding. Critical activist ethnomusicology (CAE) is at the heart of David A. McDonald's and Oliver Y. Shao's respective chapters and is the first methodological innovation we delve into. Defined as a problem-centered mode of participatory research aimed at the pursuit of social justice, Shao proposes CAE as the least exploitative, most productive approach to ethnomusicological research. McDonald goes further, arguing that leaning into the political potential of ethnomusicological research and activism would keep the field safe from falling into comfortable irrelevance. Both authors convincingly show how this stance has led them to strong results in their own fieldwork, McDonald through his work surrounding the trial of Mufid Abdul-Qader, a music performer for the Holy Land Foundation, and Shao in his efforts to facilitate the reinstatement of mathira processions of the Dinka Episcopal Church in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. [End Page 255] Tan Sooi Beng offers an exemplary demonstration of the practicalities of conducting Participatory Action Research (PAR) as a means to decolonise and revitalise the endangered Chinese potehi glove puppet theatre of Penang, Malaysia. PAR allows ordinary people to become directly involved in ethnomusicological research in the generation and use of knowledge leading to social change. This local self-determination makes social transformation more likely, and the involvement of young people in particular should lead to more sustainable change. Carol Muller and Nina Öhman then demonstrate how the University of Pennsylvania has taken to teaching PAR through Academically Based Community Service (ABCS), an active, creative pedagogy that integrates community service with academic study. Student researchers are encouraged...