In this second chapter of "Shadows in the Field," Titon discusses fieldwork and its ability to answer the epistemological questions inherent in the field of ethnomusicology: "What can we know about music, and how can we know it?" (Barz and Cooley 25). Titon seems to be a strong proponent of fieldwork as a method of answering this question, but is also knowledgable enough to discuss the transition from structured fieldwork (a series of interviews) to the participatory ethnomusicology practiced today. He also discusses the role of music as a type of language, as well as a "socially constructed cultural phenomenon." While his paragraph on page 35 about hypertext and multimedia was interesting, I question the fact that he included it in the 2006 version of this chapter, especially as my further research in the area turned up very little being done in the music world. I was, however, interested in his ideas on the future of fieldwork and representing music as a communal experience.
Discussion question: Is the "friendship model" of fieldwork viable even when we discuss, as we did earlier, the idea of virtual fieldwork? Is it possible to build these relationships with a community without face-to-face interaction?
No comments:
Post a Comment