You will learn from today’s reading that in some African and Afro-Carribean cultures, women are restricted from playing certain drums, particularly in religious contexts, and that the drums themselves are thought of as gendered. The packet of readings for today includes four brief excerpts from articles about this topic by ethnomusicologists. Two are writing about their native cultures, and two are not.
Write out brief answers to the following questions, and be prepared to discuss your responses in class:
(1) What methods do these scholars use to investigate the relationship between gender and drumming, and do these methods ever depend on being a cultural insider or outsider?
(2) How does knowing the gender and nationality of each author shape your response to their arguments?
Due: