Ethnomusicological Exits: Breaks, Goodbyes, Partings

In this roundtable we reflect on ruptures, breaks, loose ends, and suspensions in our practice as ethnomusicologists. What happens when we are unable to give fieldwork the continuity that it requires and merits? What happens when professional engagements and ties are placed under strain? How do we practice ethnomusicology well in a context of increased political and economic isolation? The roundtable responds to a wider situation afflicting our practice, for those of us with ties to the United Kingdom and Ireland. First, changes in immigration policy under the UK government’s ‘hostile environment’ have in many cases led to decreased numbers of international applicants, threatening the cross-cultural richness of our sector and undermining our institutions’ financial standing, ultimately causing a wave of program closures and redundancies. Second, Brexit has had consequences for those of us with professional and research ties in the European Union. In such conditions, the presumption of mobility, for so long a privilege of researchers with British citizenship, applies to a far lesser extent. We may not take for granted the status of the (partially) postcolonial United Kingdom as a hub for dynamic intercultural exchange.

Ethnomusicological work in this context also suggests challenges about relations in the research ‘field’. It is widely recognized that the neatness of fieldwork ‘endings’ is now implausible (if it ever was otherwise). Our engagement with research respondents tend not to conclude with closure, but continue to hang around. Sometimes this ‘hanging around’ takes the form of responsibilities during and after publication. It may also take the form of loose ends; unresolved questions; longings; unfulfilled expectations; cruel optimism; perhaps even more decidedly negative affects such as trauma. Often, the forms this ‘hanging around’ takes are defined by processes beyond our full control: for instance, our (in)ability to continue professional practice or to travel freely. This roundtable will reflect on these interlinked questions.