"Music at the Limits of Political Efficacy" Dr. Matt Sakakeeny, Tulane University and the National Humanities Center This talk identifies four principal themes that arose from a “political turn” in music studies at the turn of the twenty-first century: dissent, … Read more

"Afrobeats and the Popular Incredible in Nigeria" Dr. Adeshina Afolayan, University of Ibadan and the National Humanities Center Afrobeats, as the current preeminent articulation of popular music in Nigeria, participates in and embodies the reign of the postcolonial incredible in Nigeria. In … Read more

"Castrato Remix" Dr. Bonnie Gordon, University of Virginia In 1565 Guglielmo Gonzaga sent his ambassador, the humanist scholar Girolamo Negri, on a fruitless mission to look for castrati. After one died and others were too expensive, a frustrated Negri decided … Read more