Decentering Musical Modernity

1. Why did You chose this topic?

The idea of writing a book about musical modernity stemmed from our observation of how our reality, and musicology in particular, is becoming more and more global on an institutional level (as recent changes within the IMS show: e.g. the establishment of Regional Associations and the decentralization of its events). As scholars, we felt the necessity to extend such a trend on a scholarly level, in order to provide our readers with the intellectual tools to better understand the world we live in.

2. What new perspectives does your book offer?

The book broadens and intensifies the reflections on music history from a global perspective, by including scholarly discussions from East Asia. It overcomes dichotomies such as European vs. World music, as well as the methodological division between historical musicology and ethnomusicology. Ultimately, the book contributes to the understanding of modernity not just as a mere object of study, but rather as a methodological tool to better capture the complexities of contemporary musical reality.

3. What makes your topic relevant for current research debates?

Our book extends the current debates on global history to the history of music, also establishing a dialogue among scholars from different academic traditions. It connects singular approaches, such as global and transnational history, with sociological theories of modernity and modernization and with the musicological historical and analytical investigation, providing a multidimensional and more complete framework for further investigations about (musical) modernity.

4. Choose one person you would like to discuss your book with!

David R M Irving (University of Melbourne); Shuhei Hosokawa (International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto)

5. Your book summary in one sentence:

This book is a transnational investigation into the multifaceted notion of musical modernity, its specificities, policies, imaginaries and narratives.