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| Ethnomusicology Department, Uppsala University | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ethnomusicology Department, Uppsala University |
| Established | 20th century |
| Type | Public |
| City | Uppsala |
| Country | Sweden |
| Campus | Uppsala University Campus |
Ethnomusicology Department, Uppsala University is a specialized academic unit within Uppsala University focusing on the study of music in cultural contexts. The department engages with fieldwork traditions, archival research, and interdisciplinary connections across Stockholm University, Lund University, Uppsala University Library, Royal Swedish Academy of Music, and international partners such as University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley. It maintains a strong presence in Scandinavian and global ethnomusicological networks including the International Council for Traditional Music, European Association of Social Anthropologists, Nordic Research Councils and cultural institutions like the Sámi Parliament of Sweden and the Världskulturmuseet.
The department traces roots to early 20th-century collections connected to Carl von Linné and to ethnographic work in the Nordic countries, influenced by scholars associated with Uppsala University and comparative projects linked to Theodor Adorno, Zora Neale Hurston, Bronisław Malinowski, Franz Boas, Curt Sachs, and Erich von Hornbostel. During the mid-1900s it expanded through collaborations with the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, exchanges with the University of Helsinki, University of Oslo, University of Copenhagen, and visiting scholars from Columbia University, Yale University, University of Toronto, and Australian National University. In recent decades the unit has participated in EU-funded frameworks such as Horizon 2020 and bilateral projects with the Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, Musée de l'Homme, and archives like the British Library and the Library of Congress.
The department offers programs at undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels aligned with Swedish higher education reforms from Bologna Process and quality assessments by the Swedish Higher Education Authority. Courses cover field methods influenced by models from University of Chicago ethnography, sound studies associated with Simon Frith, performance analysis in the tradition of Philip Bohlman, and theoretical strands linked to Clifford Geertz, Edward Said, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Stuart Hall. Students can study world musics including Scandinavian folk traditions such as kulning and joik, as well as repertoires from West Africa, India, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, Cuba, Iceland, Ireland, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Nepal, China, Korea, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Russia, Poland, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, and United States. The curriculum integrates training in audio technology with equipment standards from institutions like IRCAM and methods used at Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.
Research themes include musical heritage preservation in collaboration with the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, studies of performance and identity in contexts such as Sápmi, Balkans, Andes, and urban scenes like Stockholm and London. Faculty and students publish in journals and series associated with the Journal of the Royal Musical Association, Ethnomusicology Forum, Yearbook for Traditional Music, Popular Music, Music & Letters, Acta Musicologica, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Berghahn Books, Springer, and participate in conferences including International Musicological Society and European Seminar in Ethnomusicology. Projects have resulted in digital archives interoperable with platforms such as Europeana, Digital Public Library of America, and linked with collections at the Nordic Museum and Skansen.
The department's faculty profile includes ethnomusicologists with research specializations overlapping with scholars affiliated to University of Edinburgh, University of Manchester, Goldsmiths, University of London, SOAS University of London, Indiana University Bloomington, University of Chicago, Simon Fraser University, and archival professionals trained in methods used at the National Archives of Sweden. Staff roles include curators, field technicians, and administrators liaising with bodies such as the Swedish Research Council, Formas, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, European Research Council, and cultural funders like the Ax:son Johnson Foundation.
Facilities encompass listening rooms, recording studios modeled after standards at BBC Radiophonic Workshop and equipped with software used at IRCAM, and archival holdings that include sound recordings, field notebooks, and musical instruments from collections similar to the Ethnographic Museum, Stockholm and the Horniman Museum. Notable collection areas document Sami music and regional repertoires comparable to holdings at the Nationalmuseum and the Nordiska museet. The department curates audiovisual material compatible with repositories like the Swedish Performing Arts Agency and contributes to thematic exhibitions at venues such as the Museum of World Culture.
Longstanding partnerships include research exchanges with Uppsala University Hospital for music and health studies, joint programs with Stockholm Conservatory of Music, project grants from European Commission, and field collaborations with indigenous organizations including the Sámi Council and cultural NGOs active in Greenland and Finland. International research links extend to Max Planck Society, Smithsonian Folkways, British Library Sound Archive, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, and museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Musical Instrument Museum.
Student groups organize seminars, concerts, and fieldwork workshops in venues across Uppsala and partner cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo, Reykjavík, Berlin, and Paris. Outreach includes collaborations with the Sámi Parliament of Sweden, community choirs, folk festivals like Medieval Week on Gotland and Stockholm's Kulturfestival, guest lectures by visiting researchers from Harvard Kennedy School and Princeton University, and internship placements at cultural institutions like the Swedish Performing Arts Agency and Riksantikvarieämbetet. The department also supports student publications and participation in networks such as the European Association for Music in Schools and International Council for Traditional Music.