CFP: Oxford UP, Theorizing African American Music Book Series

[AMS]

Oxford University Press, new book series, “Theorizing African American Music” (TAAM).
African American music is one of the most important musics in American history. Rap and hiphop are currently two of the world’s most popular genres, while jazz has arguably been America’s most significant homegrown music and musical export. TAAM focuses exclusively on the theory and analysis of African American music writ large. In centering this music, TAAM also foregrounds previous work done by BIPOC scholars with this music, as well as work done on African American musicians and composers. TAAM includes not only explorations that typically fall under the purview of music theory, but also (ethno)musicological or other relevant academic explorations that could reasonably called theoretical/analytical.

As has been discussed widely in recent years, American music theory has historically been, from a racial perspective, unremittingly white. What this means for the many genres of music that can rightly be said to have roots in or ties to African Americanism is that virtually all attempts to analyze/theorize these genres in American music theory were undertaken by white persons, usually men, and put through a filter of the field’s white racial framing. This has resulted in the appropriation and assimilation of African American genres into mainstream music theory with the intent of legitimizing the music in question to the field so that it can be further mined for its musical resources.

TAAM pulls the discussion of these African American musical genres away from whiteness and (re)engages black and BIPOC voices, thus moving beyond the narrow confines of what has, historically, constituted music theory in the United States. Importantly, everyone, of any identity imaginable, is welcome to contribute to TAAM, but a commitment to foreground BIPOC voices shall remain paramount. By engaging with the theory and analysis of this music, TAAM will broaden and enrich American music theory while providing inspiration to a new generation of musicians/scholars.

At this point we are seeking well-developed book proposals. As this is an ongoing call for manuscripts, there is no deadline. All questions can be addressed directly to Philip Ewell, series editor, at pewell -at- hunter.cuny.edu.