Brenda M. Romero – författare

Dancing across Borders: Danzas y Bailes Mexicanos focuses specifically on Mexican dance practices on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. The essays explore various types of Mexican popular and traditional dances and address questions of authenticity, aesthetics, identity, interpretation, and research methodologies in dance performance. Contributors include not only noted scholars from a variety of disciplines but also several dance practitioners who reflect on their engagement with dance and reveal subtexts of dance culture. Capturing dance as a living expression, the volume's ethnographic approach highlights the importance of the cultural and social contexts in which dances are practiced. Contributors are Norma E. CantÚ, Susan Cashion, MarÍa Teresa CeseÑa, XÓchitl C. ChÁvez, Adriana Cruz-Manjarrez, RenÉe de la Torre Castellanos, Peter J. GarcÍa, Rudy F. GarcÍa, Chris Goertzen, Martha GonzÁlez, Elisa Diana Huerta, Sydney Hutchinson, Marie "Keta" Miranda, Olga NÁjera-RamÍrez, Shakina Nayfack, Russell RodrÍguez, Brenda M. Romero, Nancy Lee Chalfa Ruyter, JosÉ SÁnchez JimÉnez, and Alberto ZÁrate Rosales.

Music is powerful and transformational, but can it spur actual social change? A strong collection of essays, At the Crossroads of Music and Social Justice studies the meaning of music within a community to investigate the intersections of sound and race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and differing abilities. Ethnographic work from a range of theoretical frameworks uncovers and analyzes the successes and limitations of music's efficacies in resolving conflicts, easing tensions, reconciling groups, promoting unity, and healing communities. This volume is rooted in the Crossroads Section for Difference and Representation of the Society for Ethnomusicology, whose mandate is to address issues of diversity, difference, and underrepresentation in the society and its members' professional spheres. Activist scholars who contribute to this volume illuminate possible pathways and directions to support musical diversity and representation.At the Crossroads of Music and Social Justice is an excellent resource for readers interested in real-world examples of how folklore, ethnomusicology, and activism can, together, create a more just and inclusive world.

Music is powerful and transformational, but can it spur actual social change? A strong collection of essays, At the Crossroads of Music and Social Justice studies the meaning of music within a community to investigate the intersections of sound and race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and differing abilities. Ethnographic work from a range of theoretical frameworks uncovers and analyzes the successes and limitations of music's efficacies in resolving conflicts, easing tensions, reconciling groups, promoting unity, and healing communities. This volume is rooted in the Crossroads Section for Difference and Representation of the Society for Ethnomusicology, whose mandate is to address issues of diversity, difference, and underrepresentation in the society and its members' professional spheres. Activist scholars who contribute to this volume illuminate possible pathways and directions to support musical diversity and representation.At the Crossroads of Music and Social Justice is an excellent resource for readers interested in real-world examples of how folklore, ethnomusicology, and activism can, together, create a more just and inclusive world.

In Positioning Creativity in Ethnomusicology: Study and Practice, ethnomusicologists succinctly demonstrate various ways of centering creativity in music higher education. Across six chapters, 12 authors with a variety of specializations and years of experience in (and outside of) academia come together to offer their answers to the question, "e;What might be possible if we were to (re)position creativity at the center of all we do?"e; Their contributions range from creative philosophical and theoretical approaches that deemphasize Western canonical views, to practical applications in ensembles, to creative ways of being respectful and reciprocal in complicated cross-cultural relationships in the field (the ethnomusicologist's research locus), among music faculty, and with students in the classroom.Bringing together a wide range of case studies, the chapters tie anti-colonial advocacy to the creation of spaces where creativity can flourish, show how creative applied ethnomusicology benefits communities, and address the creative pedagogies required to situate diverse musical cultures in the context of academia while overcoming gaps in student and faculty understanding. Providing new insights for scholars, instructors, and students Positioning Creativity in Ethnomusicology is an essential resource that reframes how we practice and teach ethnomusicology.

In Positioning Creativity in Ethnomusicology: Study and Practice, ethnomusicologists succinctly demonstrate various ways of centering creativity in music higher education. Across six chapters, 12 authors with a variety of specializations and years of experience in (and outside of) academia come together to offer their answers to the question, "e;What might be possible if we were to (re)position creativity at the center of all we do?"e; Their contributions range from creative philosophical and theoretical approaches that deemphasize Western canonical views, to practical applications in ensembles, to creative ways of being respectful and reciprocal in complicated cross-cultural relationships in the field (the ethnomusicologist's research locus), among music faculty, and with students in the classroom.Bringing together a wide range of case studies, the chapters tie anti-colonial advocacy to the creation of spaces where creativity can flourish, show how creative applied ethnomusicology benefits communities, and address the creative pedagogies required to situate diverse musical cultures in the context of academia while overcoming gaps in student and faculty understanding. Providing new insights for scholars, instructors, and students Positioning Creativity in Ethnomusicology is an essential resource that reframes how we practice and teach ethnomusicology.