Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology

Ethnomusicological fieldwork has significantly changed since the end of the the 20th century. Ethnomusicology is in a critical moment that requires new perspecitves on fieldwork - perspectives that are not addressed in the standard guides to ethnomusicological or anthropological method. The focus in ethnomusicological writing and teaching has traditionally centered around analyses and ethnographic representations of musical cultures, rather than on the personal world of understanding, experience, knowing, and doing fieldwork. Shadows in the Field deliberately shifts the focus of ethnomusicology and of ethnography in general from representation (text) to experience (fieldwork). The ＂new fieldwork＂ moves beyond mere data collection and has become a defining characteristic of ethnomusicology that engages the scholar in meaningful human contexts.

In this new edition of Shadows in the Field, renowned ethnomusicologists explore the roles they themselves act out while performing fieldwork and pose significant questions for the field: What are the new directions in ethnomusicological fieldwork? Where does fieldwork of ＂the past＂ fit into these theories? And above all, what do we see when we acknowledge the shadows we cast in the field?

The second edition of Shadows in the Field includes updates of all existing chapters, a new preface by Bruno Nettl, and seven new chapters addressing critical issues and concerns that have become increasingly relevant since the first edition.

Timothy J. Cooley is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is the author of Making Music in the Polish Tatras: Tourists, Ethnographers, and Mountain Musicians. He serves as the editor of Ethnomusicology, the journal of the Society for Ethnomusicology, and is the president of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Southern California Chapter.

Gregory Barz is Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology and Anthropology at the Blair School of Music at Vanderbuilt University, and the general editor of the African Soundscapes book series. He serves as African Music editor for the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and is the author of Singing for Life: HIV/AIDS and Music in Uganda, which has been nominated for a Grammy Award and Music in East Africa: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture.