In this talk, Kyra Gaunt will share her reflections from collaborative study and participant-observation of YouTube, music, and user-generated content. Since international Women’s Day in 2013, she has been examining music discovery and marginalization in user-generated content through a case study of YouTube twerking. Dr. Gaunt offers her insights into the unintended consequences of race, gender, and technology for the field of ethnomusicology and music studies more broadly. Music is a pivotal driver in mobile technologies and the harmful consequences of YouTube content creation, search algorithms, and archiving for the most vulnerable and marginalized people online demand our critical, creative, and collaborative attention.

Prof. Gaunt's lecture launches a series of scholarly and musical events on campus that coincide with the first performance at Hill Auditorium of Porgy and Bess based on the U-M Gershwin Initiative’s scholarly performing edition.

Co-sponsored by the U-M Gershwin Initiative