The newest little history by Elizabeth Woodfall (historian of wind) is now available at The Elizabeths. It was inspired by, in part (and is a thank-you for, in part) a recent musical performance by Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei at the Association for Asian Studies annual meeting in Seattle. You can find it by heading over to The History of Song. To hear a song from the concert that … Continue reading The History of Song: A Little Story
There’s a new storypost up at “Reading Notes: The Intertwining – The Chiasm”: this one is a translation of the first sentence of the Merleau-Ponty essay that forms the heart of this fiction/translation/exploration/reading project. You can find it by clicking on the red link in the text below! “If it is true that as soon as philosophy declares itself to be reflection or coincidence it prejudges what it … Continue reading all at once, pell-mell
Nick Harkness and I spoke recently about his inspiring new book. Songs of Seoul explores the human voice as an instrument, and object, and an emblem in a rich ethnography of songak in Christian South Korea. It is a thoughtful and conceptually sophisticated account, and you can listen to our conversation about it here. Continue reading Songs of Seoul: An Interview
Last month, I had the pleasure of giving a talk at Berkeley comparing the art of the DJ and that of the historian, and considering an example of what might result from putting the comparison into practice for the history of Qing science. The Berkeley CSTMS have posted a video of the talk online, and you can find it at the link below. http://cstms.berkeley.edu/current-events/last-night-an-historian-saved-my-life-science-sampling-and-the-art-of-the-dj/ Continue reading Last Night An Historian Saved My Life: A Recent Talk at Berkeley
David Novak and I recently talked about his awesome new book on noise, Japan, music, and global circulation. It’s a thoughtful study and a pleasure to read, and you can listen to our conversation about it here. Continue reading Japanoise: An Interview
Jim Milward and I recently talked about the new introduction to the Silk Road that he recently published as part of the Oxford “A Very Short Introduction” series. You can listen to our conversation here. Continue reading The Silk Road: An Interview
I recently spoke with William Marotti about his engaging new book on avant-garde artistic production and everyday political engagement in postwar Japan. You can listen to our conversation here. Continue reading Money, Trains, and Guillotines: An Interview
Alix Hui and I spoke recently about her new book about musical aesthetics, natural science, and the psychophysical study of sound in nineteenth century Germany. You can find our conversation here. Continue reading The Psychophysical Ear: An Interview
Erica Fox Brindley and I recently talked about her stimulating new book on music, resonance, and early Chinese thought. You can listen to our conversation here. Continue reading Music, Cosmology, and the Politics of Harmony in Early China: An Interview
Nathan Hesselink generously spent part of his recent birthday talking with me about his great new book on contemporary Korean percussion music and its roots in itinerant performance culture. You can listen to some of the wonderful music described in Hesselink’s book on the CD that accompanies SamulNori, and you can listen in on our conversation here. Continue reading SamulNori: An Interview
Carla Nappi 