Research Interests
ethnographicgeographic places and movementssonic historiesaffective orientationscontemporary Tunisiananti-colonialresistance and scholarship
Opportunities
Work Study Positions Available: No
Grant Funded Positions Available: No
Course-Credit Research Opportunities Available: No
Volunteer Research Positions Available: No
Biography
Rachel Colwell is an ethnomusicologist specializing in Tunisian Andalusi art music (m?'l?f) and listening practices. She received her Doctorate in Music at the University of California, Berkeley and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Musical Studies and Anthropology at Oberlin College. In her ethnographic fieldwork, she investigates the connections to geographic places and movements, emplaced sonic histories, and affective orientations perpetuated and challenged through contemporary Tunisian listening. Her work advocates for increased attention toward questions of access and participation in post-authoritarian contexts and for multisensory and emplaced knowledge as key sites of continued anti-colonial resistance and scholarship.
Rachel is a violinist and vocalist with training in Western classical art music, Arab art music, American and British Isles fiddling traditions, Javanese and Balinese gamelan, and West Sumatran talempong.
