Hello
! I am an associate professor of music at the University of Maryland, College Park. I specialize in Romani musics, language and semiotics, race and ethnicity, citizenship, and the commemoration of genocide.
My research in ethnomusicology and linguistic anthropology explores relationships between cultural production, race, and politics. I focus on how Romani (also known as “Gypsy”) groups use music and language to advance their own sociopolitical and economic interests. My award-winning recent book, Django Generations: Hearing Ethnorace, Citizenship, and Jazz Manouche in France (University of Chicago Press, 2021), shows how music and language shape senses of ethnoracial and national belonging among French Manouche populations. Through ethnographic, performance-based, and archival research methods, my work takes an interdisciplinary approach to the politics of expressive practices and the commodification of culture. I have published in Ethnomusicology, The Journal of the American Musicological Society, The Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Popular Music and Society, French Cultural Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, European History Quarterly, and Jazz and Culture.
My current research explores the politics of silence in genocide commemoration. French Manouches were targets of genocidal policies under the Nazi and Vichy regimes that seized France during World War II, yet their histories — as well as the long-term socioeconomic repercussions of this persecution — remain underrepresented in educational programs and governmental institutions. This project focuses on commemorative efforts among descendants of Manouche victims and survivors in France, especially those who undertake these efforts through musical practices. In 2023-24, I will pursue ethnographic and archival research in France as a fellow at the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study.
I am co-founder and Principal Coordinator of the Initiative for Romani Music at New York University, an organization that brings together scholars, artists, and community members to raise awareness about Romani musics and cultures. I am also a Curator of the Music section of RomArchive , the first digital archive of Romani arts and cultures led in large part by Romanies. I earned my Ph.D. from the Department of Music at New York University and am also a violinist, violist, and vocalist in a variety of genres.
My full name is pronounced “seev broon lee.” My pronouns are she, her, and hers.