Congratulations to Assistant Professor Chérie Rivers Ndaliko on winning the Society for Ethnomusicology’s Kwabena Nketia Book Prize for her book Necessary Noise: Music, Film, and Charitable Imperialism in the East of Congo. According to the SEM, the purpose of the Kwabena Nketia Book Prize is “to recognize the most distinguished book or monograph on the topic of African and African diasporan music, published over the previous four years.”
Published in 2016 by Oxford University Press, Necessary Noise has garnered much acclaim in the past two years. In 2017, Ndaliko was awarded the Society for Ethnomusicology’s Alan Merriam Book of the Year Prize. “Written by a scholar and activist in the center of the current public policy debate, Necessary Noise examines the uneasy balance of accomplishing change through art against the unsteady background of war.” (Oxford University Press)
“This book is a necessary read for anyone interested in current politics and art in the DRC. It also is valuable in its analyses of the relationship between African NGOs and international organizations. Necessary Noise draws from a range of critical theoretical insights and skillfully presents them in forthright, clear prose no mean feat. Upper division undergraduates, graduate students, and general readers alike will learn a great deal from Rivers Ndaliko s methods and her presentation.” –African Studies Quarterly
Congratulations, Dr. Ndaliko!