Power and Ethnomusicology - Literature review Example

Lecturer Power and Ethnomusicology Ethnomusicology can be seen as a branch of music which tends to look at the cultural dimension of music. It draws against this origin to understand the present and even the future. The point of contention has always been how much clout this area of music wields both in academia and the field. This paper will attempt to look through the available literature so as to try and determine how ethnomusicology and power relates. To begin with, Wong (2014 347) is of the opinion that ethnomusicology has largely been neutralized in academic circles. She gives an example of most music departments in most universities whereby ethnomusicology operates more or less from the periphery rather than the centre where it ought to be controlling proceedings in those departments. The reason for this situation is that most of these departments are dominated by people who favour western art music and given that there are the one who wield power in these departments, then it is hard for ethnomusicology to take what ought to be its rightful place in academia. In essence, ethnomusicology has been ‘neutralized and normalized’ (Wong 347). Therefore, in most universities, the assumptions driving music as a whole are ones that has little or no place for ethnomusicology. This line of thinking appears to be the one taken up by Mahon (330) who is similarly concerned by the ‘visibility and audibility’ of ethnomusicology. The two authors appear to be reading from the same page when they laments about the pushing of such an important academic field towards the periphery of academic proceedings rather than the centre where it should be. Mahon (330) is strongly against what she calls ‘academics politics’ which even determines which topics should be researched by the students and which ones should be avoided. A good example is the role of black women and people of culture in ‘rock and roll’. Traditionally, ‘rock and roll’ has been a misunderstood to mean that it is a genre of music preserved for the whites (Mahon 330) and that is why names such as Bob Dylon, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones among others are widely known yet we have many people of colour who also played a role in this genre but are hardly mention (Mahon 329). Fortunately, it is the field of ethnomusicology that can right this wrong through research work that can inform the public about the unheard black individuals who also had a role to play in this period but are hardly known and therefore help to right this wrong perception. However, the academic politics, of which ethnomusicology wields little or no power in policy issues has meant that define “certain types of music and certain categories of musicians as worthy of scholarly attention while excluding others” (Mahon 330). Therefore, the two authors are in agreement that in academic circles, ethnomusicology is still a field that has no power to dictate policy and as such, certain important issues with regards to knowledge creation and dissemination will continue to suffer. Titon (317) takes a different opinion from the two authors with regards to the powerlessness of ethnomusicologists. While acknowledging the difficult situations ethnomusicologists find themselves in academia where they have been largely ignored with regards to policy formulation, he reckons that musicologists have made major contributions in spite of their challengers. It is a fact that through their work, sometimes even without knowing, ethnomusicologists have gone out of their own way to work under difficult circumstances and the results if their work has been amazing. This way, Titon (317) appears to be keen in informing his audience that ethnomusicologists should not worry much about lack of power in the structure of academia because even within their own spaces, they wield immense power which can be used to influence communities within which they run various research programmes. Even though the Mahon and Wong are in agreement that their field is being looked down upon in academia, they take radically different dimensions with regard to what should be done so as to rectify the situation so as to have ethnomusicology take its rightful place. On one hand, Wong appears to have given up. She notes even though courses in ethnomusicology are accepted and taught, she and her colleagues have no alternative but to give themselves ‘…over to value systems that dictate we work in permanent states of contradiction and asymmetry” (Wong 347). This attitude of resignation is to be seen later towards the end of her writing when she laments that ethnomusicology is increasingly shifting away from the centre and its place taken up by other music disciplines which appear to have endeared themselves to the public such as Anthropology, Literary Studies and Communication. Of concern to her is the fact that performance music appears to be killing ethnomusicology. The increasingly clout of performance music (Wong 352), appears to have rattled her and pushed her further into hopelessness. Therefore, as long as music being performed continues to be viewed favourably, ethnomusicology does not stand a chance. On the other hand, Mahon is of a different opinion with regards to the future of ethnomusicology. She sees it as a challenge which ethno musicians like her and Wong should take in their strides. For her, ethnomusicology has a bright future if only those supporting it can learn some of the basic things to build their power and win respect from other scholars who can rely on their work. This is based on the fact that ethnomusicology is interdisciplinary in nature (Titon 315, Mahon 331). For instance, she recommends that ethnomusicologists should aim at publishing their articles in relevant journals outside their discipline of ethnomusicology (Mahon 331). This way, they are able to reach a wider audience, especially individual and scholars from other disciplines who are likely to appreciate their work and therefore change their perceptions about this discipline. Another suggestion is for the ethnomusicologists to aim at increasing their participation in conferences. To this end, there is a possibility that they could come in contact with scholars from other disciplines and be able to share and argue out for the relevance of their discipline. Hence, the approach of the two authors towards the future of ethnomusicology, especially with regard to power is markedly in contrast. Another author who sees a bright future for ethnomusicology must be Titon Jeff Todd. Unlike Wong who sees public performances to be a threat to ethnomusicology, Titon sees ethnomusicology as a collaborative effort, and therefore public ethnomusicology is an important part in helping to understand the knowledge theorized in libraries and laboratories (Titon 320). He argues that anybody who avoids fieldwork is and therefore people like Wong who condemn such public performances as ‘killing musicology’ are in effect shutting themselves ‘…from a valuable way of knowing that is constitutive of those disciplines (ethnomusicology, cultural anthropology, folklore) that employ it.’ Therefore While Wong sees a dim future, Mahon and Titon are of the opinion that all lies in the hands of ethnomusicologists themselves and that with proper approach, they can turn things around. After all, this is an important discipline that should not be treated the way it is being handled currently. Both Titon (316) and Wong (347) are of the opinion that whenever ethnomusicologist appears to rise and take control of situations it is viewed as interfering. This can be attributed to the fact that ethnomusicology as a discipline has been wrestled of power to the extent that little is expected of it. While Wong appears to be disturbed by this approach to issues, Titon on the other hand takes it positively. According to him, every institution in the society including the universities and communities have to interfere with the status quo in order to have an impact. He refers to this phenomenon as ‘intervention’ (Titon 316). It is only through intervening that opportunities to better peoples’ lives can be spotted and then the next step, which is to exploit those opportunities can be pursued. Mahon (329) draws from her experiences with researching about black female participation in ‘rock and roll’ amid intense opposition from those who so such a research as irrelevant to advice that while wanting to change the world, ‘…we must remain mindful of the political interest and structural patterns that shape the way social relations...are constructed, reproduced and sustained.’ This way, we will know how best to intervene. This is a very important observation especially considering that ethnomusicology has to move from the periphery towards the centre so as to shape and influence decisions. Just like the participation of people of colour in ‘rock and roll’ mentioned earlier, it involves the difficult task of challenging the ‘’status quo’ and the entrenched policies of alienation built over the years. An approach that does not go down well with the majority will only make them to persist with their backward behaviours. The place of arts and humanities within the United States has also come under the focus of these authors. It has to be remembered that ethnomusicology falls within the wider arts and humanities disciplines and if they are not appreciated, then even ethnomusicology cannot be appreciated and given the prestige it proponents feel id due to it. Both Wong (350) and Titon (317) agree that part of the problem facing ethnomusicology is how the two disciplines are treated in the wider social realm. Indeed, if humanities fail to get its rightful place, it can be deduced that it ends up with less power within the wider power structure. This way, only limited power will be available to go round various disciplines falling under them. It is thus understandable why the current situation might be serious. However, the two author differs with regard to the reason why humanities is not being given the power it deserves. Titon (317) is of the opinion that the main issue is that there is an overemphasis within the American culture of sciences over the humanities. This problem appears to be historical as industry is the key thing that appears to drive American economy with the arts lagging close by. Besides, prestige attached to sciences means that more students would like to pursue sciences courses and as a result this boost the prestige of the sciences hence the power they wield. This appears to fall neatly within the agreement of Wong that humanities courses are suffering from continuous ‘defunding’ (350). In other words, this means that they do not get enough funding to run their programmes. Because of this squeeze, music has been reduced to ‘…sound studies and listening which is just a small corner of ethnomusicology’ (Wong 350). It is therefore important that measures be taken to improve the prestige of humanities as a discipline that has a role in contributing to the growth and development of the society. It deserves its equal share within the academic power structure. The role of humanities in boosting the image and power of ethnomusicology is also captured by Mohan (330) when she appears to place ethnomusicology on the same platform as other humanities courses. However, reading through, it starts to appear that she is disagreeing with the notion that all are being treated equally and therefore suffering the same fate. She poses very important questions with regard to the power ethnomusicology seems to be enjoying and appears to be concluding that it is getting a raw deal. For instance, Mohan questions why scholars from other disciplines do not engage or even quote the works of ethnomusicologists and why it appears that only sociologists and historians appear to be enjoying more clout as they are invited as experts on news programs and documentaries (330). This just goes ahead to demonstrate to us that indeed the disciplines are not equal. The argument that all humanities disciplines are despised and that the poor treatment of ethnomusicology is part of a wider problem is therefore misleading. Perhaps Wong sums it all well when she notes that musicologist suffers from an ‘elitist structures’ (349). This basically means that those who get to wield power are in a way favoured over others who are suffering and downtrodden. In this case, ethnomusicology finds itself squeezed out of space to exercise its power by the other powerful courses within the power structure. It is even saddening that even within the music structure, ethnomusicology is largely uncelebrated even though its contribution is accepted and appreciated (Wong 347). In sum, it can be said that ethnomusicology is one discipline that deserves its place in the power structure in academia and even outside of it. This is partially because multiculturalism is nowadays inevitable and it is even encouraged over racism. Worlds travel, immigration and trade has meant that people need to learn to co-exist. However, to do this, we have to understand and appreciate each other’s culture and ethnomusicology and related disciplines become an important starting point. Reference List Mahon Maureen. “Music Power and Practice.” Ethnomusicology. 58.2. (2014). pg. 327-333 Titon Jeff . “Music, the Public Interest and the Practice of Ethnomusicology.” Ethnomusicology. 36. 3 (1992). pg. 315-322 Wong Deborah. “ Sound, Silence, Music: Power.” Ethnomusicology. 52 . 2. ( 2014) .pg. 347- 353 Read More