Anthropology of Music Lecture Series in combination with the Anthropology of Music Master Class

June 27 to 30, 2018 with Prof. Timothy Taylor, UCLA

We proudly announce the first edition of our “Anthropology of Music Lecture Series and Master Class”. It is part of a new initiative to further strengthen and expand the focus on music at the Department of Anthropology and African Studies (ifeas), Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany. Combining a public lecture series held by one of the field’s most established representative with a Master Class designed for young researchers to present their works, this new format provides a unique opportunity to discuss ongoing research and reflect on the current state of anthropological engagements with music and sound.

Lecture Series (June 27-29, 6 pm)

This year, we will focus on the topic of Valuing Music, and are therefore glad to welcome Timothy Taylor, professor of ethnomusicology and musicology at the University of Los Angeles (UCLA). In a series of three public lectures held on three subsequent days, Timothy Tayler will explore questions of value with respect to music as a form of cultural production. Questions of value have concerned anthropologists for generations. However, only recently there have been concerted attempts to try to formulate a more general theory of value that can encompass both Marx’s and Mauss’s seminal writings. Linking up to this recent work—by David Graeber, Michael Lambek, Fred Myers, Anna Tsing, and others—the lectures explore questions of value with respect to music as a form of cultural production. The lecture series is public.

Master Class (June 27-30)

The Master Class provides young researchers with the opportunity to present their work, discuss it with leading exponents of their field (Timothy Taylor among them) and relate it to recent developments and debates. We therefore invited researchers with academic backgrounds in anthropology, musicology, sociology or related fields (preferably PhD and postdoc level) to apply for the Master Class. While there are no restrictions in regard to the region of study or to the kind of music or sound explored, the Master Class directly relates to the topic of the lecture series and thus will focus on questions of value and music. The Application is closed.