Tanya Merchant, University of California, Santa Cruz

“Gender and the ‘Oltin Meros’ (Golden Legacy): Women Performers as Tradition Bearers in Tashkent, Uzbekistan”

Tanya Merchant is an ethnomusicologist whose research interests include music’s intersection with issues of nationalism, gender, identity, and the post-colonial situation. With a geographical focus on Central Asia and the former Soviet Union, she has conducted fieldwork in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Russia. She is an avid performer on both the Uzbek dutar and the baroque bassoon, and has given concerts with ensembles in the U.S., England, and Uzbekistan. Her recent publications include articles on Uzbek popular, folk, and traditional musics, which appear in journals such as Cahiers de Musiques Traditionnelles, and Image and Narrative.

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Named after Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy, the founding chair of the Department of Ethnomusicology and Systematic Musicology, this colloquium series provides an opportunity for students, faculty, and visiting lecturers to share information about their research and discuss other issues important in the field. Please check the department website for details on lecturers.