Alan Burdette (Society for Ethnomusicology), Shannon Garland (University of Pittsburgh), Amelia López López (Indiana University), Alejandrina M. Medina (University of California - San Diego), Gabriel Solis (University of Washington), with Matt Sakakeeny (moderator) (Tulane) 

This roundtable is organized as a response to threats to universities and granting institutions that have narrowed opportunities in education, research, and employment for ethnomusicologists. In the U.S. today, budget and staffing cuts to the NEH, NEA, NSF, the Smithsonian, and other institutions have deeply impacted SEM and our membership. The universities that train and hire ethnomusicologists have imposed austerity measures in response to a general reduction in funding and the exclusion of specific research topics. The elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and targeting of “gender ideology” has undermined the very foundations of ethnomusicology’s core values of fostering cultural understanding through music. And international students are facing particular challenges in the revocation of visas, travel restrictions, surveillance, and even deportation. How will these economic and ideological shifts impact the prospects for graduate education and the job market for ethnomusicologists? How do the recent changes in U.S. politics relate to a global shift to “far-right” governments? How should we contextualize the current crisis within a longer history of struggle for those without employment, contingent faculty, and underfunded students. And what unique insights can be gained from ethnomusicologists in the public sector witnessing and experiencing the hollowing out of higher education? In addition to reviewing potential impacts, the roundtable will offer suggestions on how SEM might help mitigate the challenges facing members. The panelists include graduate students, faculty, university administrators, and non-profit workers each with unique knowledge how the current crisis might reshape the future of ethnomusicology.