[Dancecult-l] Grad schools continued

[Eliot Bates]

> From: giordano at iastate.edu
> Subject: [Dancecult-l] Grad Schools continued
> To: dancecult-l at listcultures.org
> Message-ID: <493813101010763130 at webmail.iastate.edu>
>
> Looking around some more... Does anyone have any comments or
> recommendations
> for grad schools in these areas (regarding cultural anthropology and
> ethnomusicology)??
>
>   Berkeley, CA

I have a lot of first-hand experience with Berkeley...

1) It wouldn't be an ideal place to do a PhD in ethnomusicology if you
wanted to study American EDM cultures, since there is a requirement that
field work is done outside the US (I think there has been 1 exception in
the last 15 years). I also don't see a particularly strong match between
your interests and the specialties of the 3 ethnomusicologists we have.
That said...

2) There are 2 grad students in the IIS (information science) department
who are doing very interesting work in EDM, and they seem to have good
support for their work. I'd definitely consider doing something through
them, or even perhaps the sociology department. You can take
ethnomusicology courses as a graduate student in another department.

3) The anthropology department has some really great scholars, but again,
the strengths of professors that come to mind (Charles Hirschkind: the
interface between ethics and sensorium; Saba Mahbood: alternative
modernities and feminisms in the Muslim world; Paul Rabinow: genetics and
bioengineering firms; and a whole bunch of medical anthropologists) also
doesn't totally match up with what it seems you're interested in. It's
simultaneously a successful and stressful department, as well, so figure
that in relation to your own personality!

>
> OR...does anyone want to add to this list?

Yes: definitely consider Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT), a small
liberal arts college with a MA/PhD in ethnomusicology. They were very
supportive 10 years ago when I did a MA thesis on ambient music and
internet cultures, and as far as I can tell they've been quite
enthusiastic about Emily Ferrigno's work on drum 'n' bass.

Hope this helps, if you have more questions about Berkeley, email me
directly...

-eliot

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Eliot Bates
PhD Candidate (Ethnomusicology), UC Berkeley
Music of Turkey, recording studios, electronic music practices and cultures
http://www.eliotbates.com/
oud at berkeley.edu