Lecture by: Peter Marsh, Department of Music, California State University, East Bay Since the early 20th century, Mongolians have engaged in nearly constant debate about the present place of the indigenous traditions and culture in contemporary Mongolia. Socialist concepts of modernity and development, implemented and overseen by a Soviet-backed ruling party, allowed little room for the traditional art in its conception of a shine Mongol or “new Mongolia.” But as single-party rule waned in late-1980s increasingly diverse proposals began to emerge positing the need to expand the role of the traditional in the conception of the modern in Mongolia. The subject of traditional music, in particular, has had a surprisingly important place in these nationwide “discussions,” which have often played out on the public stages and in the national media. This lecture explores several examples of the arguments musicians and cultural officials have made for the transformative role of traditional music in helping Mongolians understand and confront crucial problems they as a nation face in contemporary, post-socialist Mongolia. This examination will highlight the multiple senses of “tradition,” “culture” and “the past” that Mongolians employ as they negotiate life in contemporary society. Peter K. Marsh is an ethnomusicologist and music historian who specializes in the music and culture of Mongolia and Inner Asia. He has written extensively on issues related to musical tradition and modernity in Mongolia. His latest book, The Horse-head Fiddle and the Reimagination of Tradition in Mongolia, Current Issues in Ethnomusicology Series (New York: Routledge Press, 2009) examines the development of two-string folk fiddles and their folklorization in Mongolia in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. He has presented his research widely in the fields of ethnomusicology and Mongolian Studies, and has lectured about Mongolian music at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, American Museum of Natural History, National University of Mongolia, and as part of the Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering. He served as the founding Resident Director of the American Center for Mongolian Studies, an academic-oriented non-government organization based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and is currently Assistant Professor of Musicology and Ethnomusicology at California State University, East Bay April 11, 2013
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 19:17:35 +0000
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