I came across this website while wandering the web in search of something to stimulate my brain and assist in identifying potential Ph.d. research topics. Its editor, Dr. Anthony McCann, and I seem to share some common interests, and he is also a lecturer in ethnomusicology at the University of Sheffield, where I will be presenting my MA research this summer. I downloaded and printed out his Ph.d. dissertation, and hope to start reading it this weekend. It discusses the evolution of the Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) and the incredible shift in its public perception in regards to Irish traditional music.
I’m also fascinated by the title of his article, “Raising One Higher than the Other: The Hierarchy of Tradition in Representations of Gaelic and English Language Song in Ireland,” and plan to order the book in which it is contained, “Global Pop, Local Language.” The politics of language in Hawaiian music are of great interest to me, and a possible research path.
