Today the Wolfson College Humanities Society and the Royal Anthropological Institute will jointly host Professor Keith Howard (SOAS, University of London) for this year’s Blacking Lecture, an annual event that showcases leading anthropological research in the areas of music and dance.
“It’s a great honour to be working in conjunction with the RAI and to be hosting the Blacking Lecture here at Wolfson,” says Wolfson Fellow Dr Stephen Wilford, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Music.
“Professor Howard is an internationally respected figure within ethnomusicology, and it will be wonderful to hear him sharing his expertise” he adds.
The Blacking Lecture is named in honour of esteemed British ethnomusicologist and social anthropologist John Blacking (1928-1990). In this year’s lecture, Professor Howard tells us he intends to return to some of Blacking’s original questions of representation in ethnomusicology.
“In contrast to Blacking’s time, the separation between the science of musicology and the practice of performing music has begun to break down” says Professor Howard.
“Now the question becomes, how can we collaborate with masterly musicians to bridge between academic writing and musical performance?”
The lecture will be introduced by Dr Stephen Wilford, whose research and collaborative work also explores many of these themes.
“Professor Howard’s lecture promises to be a timely intervention into ongoing conversations about the role of musicians in shaping their own narratives.”
Register for this event
Please register to attend this event, which will take place on Tuesday 21 Feb 2023 at 17:30 in the Gatsby Room (Chancellor's Centre) and on Zoom.
About the speaker
Professor Keith Howard (SOAS, University of London) has taught all over the world, with a publication record that includes 23 books, 170 academic articles and 210 book/music reviews.
About the RAI
The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is the world's longest-established scholarly association dedicated to anthropology (the study of humankind) in its broadest and most inclusive sense.
