Oct 4

Melinda Russell presents "I wish they could hear us in the Pentagon"..

Thu, October 4, 2018 • 12:00pm - 1:00pm (1h) • Applebaum Recital Hall

Pete SeegerMelinda Russell, Professor of Music and M.A. and A.D. Hulings Professor of American Studies, presents 'I wish they could hear us in the Pentagon:' Cultural pluralism, empathy, and social movements in Pete Seeger's late 1950s college concerts (including Carleton!).

Unwelcome at commercial venues following his blacklisting, Pete Seeger survived from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s performing primarily at colleges and universities, including 1956 and 1958 appearances at Carleton. Through analysis of these performances, and interviews with organizers and attendees, Prof. Russell examines Seeger's use of these occasions to promote cultural pluralism and to engender empathy for a range of social movements. She will share several excerpts from Seeger's 1956 Carleton convocation.

Melinda Russell received the B.A. from Simon's Rock Early College, the M.A. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Minnesota, and the Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.  Dr. Russell has a diverse background in ethnomusicology, focusing on a variety of musical traditions in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. She has published articles on reggae and musical taste, on the Macarena craze of the 1990s, on choral music in an Illinois city, on the folksong repertoire of Americans, on the Star-Spangled Banner in contemporary America, and on including applied music components in lecture courses.  She coedited the books Community of Music and In the Course of Performance: Studies in the World of Musical Improvisation.  Her current research concerns the folk music revival in Minneapolis during the late 1950s/early 1960s.  Dr. Russell was formerly the Book Review Editor for the journal Ethnomusicology, and served as President of the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology. 

Event Contact: hstreekstra

Event Summary

Melinda Russell presents "I wish they could hear us in the Pentagon"..
  • When
    • Thursday, October 4, 2018
    • 12:00pm - 1:00pm (1h)
  • Where
    • Applebaum Recital Hall
  • Event Contact
    • hstreekstra
  • Copy Share Link
  • Intended For: General Public, Students, Faculty, Staff, Prospective Students, Families

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