Voices of the field: Pathways in public ethnomusicology

Ethnomusicologists face complex and challenging professional landscapes. Graduate studies in our field do not fully equip ethnomusicologists for work outside of academia. The essays in Voices of the Field: Pathways in Public Ethnomusicology, edited by Leán F. García Corona and Kathleen Wiens, provide a reflection on the challenges, opportunities, and often overlooked importance of public ethnomusicology. The essays in the book, commissioned for the volume, capture years of experiences of fourteen academics who have simultaneously navigated the academic world and the world outside academia, sharing lifelong lessons often missing in ethnomusicological training. Power and organizational structures, revenue, marketing, decision-making, content management, and production are among the themes explored as an extension and re-evaluation of what constitutes the field of ethnomusicology. The authors share their personal and professional pathways, which often converge throughout their lifelong careers as public ethnomusicologists. Many of the authors share how to successfully acquire funding for a project, others show how to navigate nonacademic workplaces, and yet others share perspectives on reconciling business-like mindsets with humanistic goals. Grounded in case studies in multiple institutional and geographical locations, authors advocate for the importance and relevance of ethnomusicology in our society at large. While providing practical resources, this volume also sheds light into the blind spots of current academic ethnomusicology programs. Voices of the Field: Pathways in Public Ethnomusicology is a foundational current and retrospective approach to the study and sustainable practice of ethnomusicology.