Minority Music Cultures of South Asia: Agency – Representation – Activism

2026 MMRC Lecture

Taking current research hosted by the MMRC on music and conflict in Northeast India as a point of departure, the 2026 MMRC Lecture will engage with minority music cultures of South Asia. What processes of marginalisation have contributed to minority music cultures on the subcontinent? How do minority musicians whose roots trace back to South Asia express themselves through their art globally? How can research contribute to the adequate representation of their music cultures in scholarly discourses, in times when freedom of academic research is threatened by authoritarianism and the backsliding of civil rights?

Addressing these questions, the 2026 MMRC Lecture will explore agency, representation, and activism in South Asia and beyond by bringing together diverse scholarly and artistic perspectives and considering their relevance to ethnomusicological minority research today. In doing so, the lecture draws on the MMRC's core principles concerning the role of music in the relationship between dominant and marginalised groups, while acknowledging the fluidity of minority and gender concepts. For the first time, the MMRC will offer an additional workshop to reflect on topics and questions raised, providing a platform to share experiences and expertise.

Programm

Musical Performance
Tsering Wangmo Satho (UCLA) 

Keynote: Music, minorities, and marginalization: Researching with Tibetan and traditional Indian performers
Anna Morcom (UCLA)

Response: Performance, Embodiment and Agency: Self-Authorship amongst Gendered Minorities
Maliha Mohsin (Central European University)

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