Discuss ways in which
ethnomusicology is identified with Western music and Western music
scholarship. Do these connections fundamentally subvert attempts to
understand other music cultures? On the other hand, do they complicate
attempts to look inward at Western music from a sociological perspective?
~ Aaron Clayton-Dunn
The vast majority of
formal ethnomusicologists and ethnomusicological institutions are located in
the Western world. Traditionally, ethnomusicology was viewed as, almost
exclusively, the study of non-Western musics and their relation to the musics
of the Western world. This concept of "otherness," which we have
encountered many times lends itself naturally to cultural relativism, as the
one of the only ways an ethnographer can provide a solid base grounding for the
study comes from utilizing his/her own background. For most of the
readings we have covered in class, the ethnomusicologists come exclusively from
a Western academic background, in which they have been schooled in Western
music and have remained indubitably immersed in the culture. As such, there is
definitely a Western-tinged perspective present whenever a typical academic
undertakes an ethnomusicological/ethnographic study. There are examples of
those who come from other cultures and study their own culture, such as Kofi
Agawu. But even Agawu has studied Western music and considers himself a Western
musicologist, so he will, too, face an aspect of "otherness" and have
the innate basis for comparison when studying another culture's music, even if
it is his own.
Whenever one looks to
study any aspect of another culture, one inevitably applies the tool of
comparison to ground oneself. Whether this comparison is explicitly stated in
the course of the ethnography, the ethnographer nonetheless goes through the
process of comparison when witnessing an event; this is simply how the human
mind works: we take what we know previously and apply it to the current
situation we are experiencing. For this reason, there will always be problems when
studying another's culture.
This, though, may not
"fundamentally subvert" understanding of another culture.
Ethnomusicology, as we have read, has gone through many phases and reforms, the
most recent of which has lead to a direct increase in reflexivity present in
studies. If an ethnographer sets out to detail their own relevant background
and experiences in a study, the readers can possibly detect coloration and bias
for themselves. This is by no means a perfect system, as the only person who
knows all an ethnographer's relevant background is the ethnographer
him/herself. If, however, the reader keeps the mindset of checking a study for
bias, by no means does the ethnographers background, in Western music/culture
or otherwise, render the study useless. In this day and age, as well, the technology
for recording video of performances, rehearsals, and daily life, etc. gives
anyone the ability to come to their own conclusions about an aspect of culture
(though this, too, is inevitably linked to and/or biased by the videographer's
choice of what to record and how to edit).
Recently,
ethnomusicologists have looked to rid themselves of these sorts of biases by
looking and studying their own cultures. This is most definitely a worthy
endeavor, and a highly possible one, since the ethnomusicologist is attuned to
his/her own culture more than anyone. At the same time, this inherent
"understanding" of one's own culture can cause one to overlook
aspects that an outsider would pick up on; many aspects of a culture are taken
for granted. So, in this way, the same problems are faced by the ethnographer
who studies their own culture. In my opinion, to completely and unbiasedly
study a culture, the culture must have a complete "otherness" (such
as Earthian culture to the Martian ethnomusicologist). This, as we all know, is
never possible in reality; to study the sociological aspects of Western music,
one would have to distance oneself from the culture and look at it from an
outsider's perspective, which may not be truly possible. As such, there are
inherent problems with looking at one's own culture and music, as much as there
are when looking at another's culture and music.
~ Adith Ramamurti
I enjoyed your
discussion of how our proclivity for comparison is at the heart of our bias in
portraying and understanding other cultures.
Ethnomusicologists have historically attempted to understand “the other”
through comparison. Some ethnographers
believed they could quickly “get” a culture by abstracting universal cultural
themes from their observations. In light
of this, I appreciate the poststructuralist effort to interrogate these notions
of “self” and “other” as discrete elements and attempt to understand cultures
on their own terms through participant observation (which, luckily, is often
productive in ethnomusicological fieldwork).
I also feel that it is really impossible to study a culture and reach
conclusions about it in an unbiased way.
I don’t even know what that would mean, as I see bias as an integral
part of the process of analysis.
You mention
reflexivity and the use of technology as ethnographic tools capable of minimizing
bias. I agree that reflexivity can help
show the interplay of the ethnographer’s background and the culture she is
studying. This can shed a lot of light
on both those elements. As far as
technology goes, I think it can be helpful as a way of bringing the experience
directly to the audience. Of course, if
you publish a video of a cultural practice which is different from the norms of
your audience’s cultures, bias enters the system through other channels. Not only are you biased in what you choose to
share, but you also allow for the bias of your audience to come more into
play. And the way you frame the video
content when presenting it affects how people will perceive it.
I really liked the
article written from the perspective of a Martian studying western art
music. Even in this thought experiment,
the Martian would have come from his own music culture and would bring a degree
of bias to the table. But I appreciated the
author’s approach of constructing an understanding of the music culture by examining
it and deriving insights from an outsider’s perspective. By doing this, he was able to articulate
aspects of the culture that I have always taken for granted, having grown up in
it.
~ Aaron Clayton-Dunn
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