Max-Planck-Institut für empirische Ästhetik
Cross-Cultural Research in Music Cognition: Methodologies, Pitfalls, and Practices
Organizers: Elizabeth Margulis and Nori Jacoby
Over the past few years, cross-cultural research has become an increasingly important tool for understanding the cultural and biological factors that influence music. At the same time, cross-cultural work carries many pitfalls, as the recent history of the comparative human sciences attests, and is therefore vulnerable to (frequently justified) criticism. This workshop aims to address the gulf that can exist between scientists and ethnomusicologists in conceptualizing and interpreting cross-cultural research.
Different framing assumptions and goals can mean that comparative work on music making around the globe occurs in parallel, with humanists and scientists failing to benefit from each other’s perspective. This workshop aims to develop a research community that straddles the humanities-science divide, cultivating a shared vocabulary and accelerating discovery. Participants will create a consensus document laying out best practices for cross cultural work in music. The document will be disseminated widely, spurring better research as well as tighter connections between science and the humanities.
Participants
Martin Clayton, Durham University
Aaron Fox, Columbia University
Luis-Manuel Garcia, University of Birmingham
Erin Hannon, University of Nevada
Henkjan Honing, University of Amsterdam
David Huron, Ohio State University
John Iversen, University of California at San Diego
Vijay Iyer, Harvard University
Nori Jacoby, Columbia University/MPIEA
Tobias Robert Klein, Humboldt University of Berlin
Elizabeth Margulis, University of Arkansas
Samuel Mehr, Harvard University
Lara Pearson, MPIEA
Isabelle Peretz, University of Montreal
Marc Perlman, Brown University
Rainer Polak, MPIEA
Andrea Ravignani, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Patrick Savage, Keio University SFC
Gavin Steingo, Princeton University
Catherine Stevens, Western Sydney University
Gary Tomlinson, Yale University
Laurel Trainor, McMaster University
Sandra Trehub, University of Toronto
Michael Veal, Yale University
Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann, MPIEA