UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries will present “Soundscapes of Resistance: Research at the Intersection of Music and Politics,” a panel discussion about the intersection of music and politics highlighting recent academic research as well as political and protest music from Japan, Ukraine and Indonesia.

“Soundscapes of Resistance,” the third event in the Political Song-a-Palooza series and co-sponsored by The McCourtney Institute for Democracy, takes place on Wednesday, Apr. 5, at 4 p.m. in Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library, on the University Park campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Panelists will consider the intersection of music and politics highlighting recent academic research on Asian American Rap in a time of anti-Asian racism, Romani resistance music from the War in Ukraine, and music of Indonesian Islam as an instrument of cultural diplomacy in the Indian Ocean World.

The discussion will be moderated by Penn State University Libraries’ Andrew Dudash, Librarian for Political Science, Policy Studies, and Government Information; and Rebekah Hill, Music and Performing Arts Librarian. Panelists include:

Anne K. Rasmussen, professor of ethnomusicology and Bickers Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the College of William and Mary and director of its Middle Eastern Music Ensemble. Her work focuses on music in multicultural America and the Islamicate world. She served as president of the Society for Ethnomusicology from 2015-17 and is the author of award-winning publications include numerous articles and chapters and four books.

Noriko Manabe, associate professor of music studies at Temple University. She researches music in social movements, popular music in Japan and the Americas, and the interactions of linguistics and music. She has published articles on music and chants of recent US protests, music addressing the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the music industry, and Japanese hip hop and is the editor of “33-1/3 Japan,” a book series on Japanese popular music from Bloomsbury Publishing.                                                                                                                    

Adriana Helbig, associate professor of music and chair of the Department of Music University of Pittsburgh. She is a classically trained pianist and teaches courses on global hip hop, applied ethnomusicology, music and disability studies, and music and conflict and has authored and edited numerous books, including “ReSounding Poverty: Romani Music and Development Aid,” published by Oxford University Press in 2023.  

For information about “Soundscapes of Resistance: Research at the Intersection of Music and Politics” or the Political Song-a-Palooza series, including questions about physical access to events, please contact Andrew Dudash, Librarian for Political Science, Policy Studies, and Government Information at amd846@psu.edu or 814-867-1629; or Rebekah Hill, Music and Performing Arts Librarian at rqh5509@psu.edu or 814-863-1401.