Event overview
The Political Economy of Song and Dance in Securitised Xinjiang
State projects of development and control can be described as processes of territorialisation, which involve the transformation of both physical landscapes and the subjectivities of the people who inhabit them. Drawing on her long-standing research in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, Rachel Harris argues that sound is a crucial aspect of territorialisation and that the soundscape, like the landscape, is also a site of struggle. Musical performance is particularly implicated in the current struggles over “the truth” about Xinjiang. Inside the internment camps, detainees sing revolutionary songs as part of a regime designed to discipline and transform Uyghur bodies and minds. Outside the camps, Uyghur song-and-dance is deployed to project a Disneyfied theme park image of the region via social media and to service the tourist experience on the ground. Harris draws parallels with studies of music, settler colonialism and racialised mass incarceration in other contexts, and reflects on the role of the ethnomusicologist in polarised political conditions.
About the Speaker:
Rachel Harris is Professor of Ethnomusicology at SOAS, University of London. Her research focuses on musical life in China's Muslim borderlands, religious and expressive culture among the Uyghurs, and cultural policy in China. Her latest book Soundscapes of Uyghur Islam (Indiana University Press 2020) won the BFE 2022 book prize. She is currently working on a British Academy Sustainable Development Project to revitalize Uyghur cultural heritage in Kazakhstan.
Music Research Lectures are free and all are welcome.
The Music Research Series invites researchers from across the country, and from within the department, to present and discuss their work. The Series is a space for the development of cutting-edge research in music, and for the training of postgraduate and Early Career Researchers from Goldsmiths and elsewhere.
The sessions bring together scholars, practitioners, and people working in music outside the university. They may include formal papers, panel discussions, conversations, or any other format that suits the research.
Attendance is strongly recommended for all postgraduate students (MA, MMus and PGR) in Music, as the events will help hone research skills, facilitate the creation of professional networks and help to consolidate the department’s postgraduate community. Undergraduates, researchers and visitors from across the college and the community are also most welcome to these public lectures.
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 2022 | 6:00pm - 7:30pm |
Accessibility
If you are attending an event and need the College to help with any mobility requirements you may have, please contact the event organiser in advance to ensure we can accommodate your needs.
