Ten years after the publication of Timothy Rice’s, “Ethnomusicology in Times of Trouble” (2014), the world is no less riven by conflict and violence. As music researchers, educators, and practitioners, we remain invested in the wellbeing of musical communities and often try to foster hope amid brutal injustices that endanger the lives of vulnerable populations. Lei Ouyang reminds us that “moments” of crisis are linked to broader systems and structures, i.e., to “larger movements and histories…that need to be understood and addressed for change to be possible” (2024, 326). Yet those of us who bear witness to human suffering may hold competing stances on whether, when, and how to address specific moments in and through our work. Various responses to humanitarian, political, and socioeconomic crises may reflect a struggle to find common ground among those with differing cultural backgrounds, professional obligations, and ideological commitments. 

In light of these challenges and opportunities, roundtable participants are invited to address the following questions:

• What kinds of advocatory obligations do we have toward marginalized groups, and how might we most effectively fulfill them, both on an organizational level as well as in our individual research and writing? 
• To what extent have our studies of music in times of crisis yielded new theories or moved us “away from vertical knowledge structures to horizontal ones in which knowledge is created in equal partnerships with communities and community musicians”? (Rice, 204) 
• Given our diversity of perspectives, beliefs, and worldviews, how might we harness the power of critical reflection and healthy discomfort “to engage with work that is relational and intergenerational and that demonstrates hope, care, and solidarity”? (Ouyang, 327)
• How do we work together—particularly in times of trouble—to promote empathy, equity, and accountability within our field(s) and institutions while cultivating safer spaces for educational and professional growth?

Chair and Moderator: 

Melvin L. Butler (SEM President), University of Miami

Discussants:

Samuel Araujo,  Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Kyra Gaunt, University at Albany, State University of New York

Deonte Harris, University of North Carolina

Adriana Helbig, University of Pittsburgh

David McDonald, Indiana University

Jessica Schwartz, University of California, Los Angeles

Jeffrey Summit, Tufts University