Very Short Introductions: World Music

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Philip V. Bohlman, Professor of Music and Jewish Studies at the University of Chicago, has taught and published from an exceptionally broad range of topics in today's world musics: folk and ethnic music in the USA; the musics of European minorities and refugees; the Middle East and South Asia; the ideological and political dimensions of music in nationalism and racism. He is the 1997 recipient of the Royal Music Academy's Dent Medal, and Bohlman has written, edited, or co-edited seventeen books.

World Music draws readers into a remarkable range of historical encounters, in which music had the power to evoke the exotic and to give voice to the voiceless. In the course of the volumes eight chapters the reader witnesses musics involvement in the modern world, but also the individual moments and particular histories that are crucial to an understanding of musics diversity. World music emerged as an invention of the West from encounters with other cultures. This book draws readers into a remarkable range of these historical encounters, in which music had the power to evoke the exotic and to give voice to the voiceless. In the course of the volumes eight chapters the reader witnesses musics involvement in the modern world, but also the individual moments and particular histories that are crucial to an understanding of musics diversity. World Music is wide-ranging in its geographical scope, yet individual chapters provide in-depth treatments of selected music cultures and regional music histories. The book frequently zooms in on repertoires and musicians - such as Bob Marley, Bartok, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - and attempts to account for world musics growing presence and popularity at the beginning of the twenty-first century. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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