Violins: Local Meanings, Globalized Sounds examines the violin as an object of meaning in a variety of cultural and historical contexts, and as a vehicle for introducing anthropological issues. Each chapter highlights concepts as taught in lower-level anthropology courses, and includes teaching and learning tools. Chapters range from a memoir-like social biography of a single instrument to explorations of violins in relation to technology, labor, the environment, migration, globalization, childhood, cultural understandings of talent and virtuosity, and prestige.
Chapter One – Anthropology and the Biography of a California Violin;
Chapter Two – Violins as Built Objects;
Chapter Three –Violins as Migrating Objects;
Chapter Four –Violins as Children’s Objects;
Chapter Five –Violins as Prestige Objects;
Glossary;
References;
Index
Biography
Pamela A. Moro is Professor of Anthropology at Willamette University. Her previous work includes Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion: A Reader in the Anthropology of Religion (Ninth Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2013).
"In bridging the fields of anthropology, ethnomusicology, and folklore, this book reveals the extent to which a single item can engage and transcend time and space. Telling a lively story about a certain type of 'stuff"' leads readily across the globe—and across issues of race, class, and gender—to new homes and new modes of expression."
—Sean Williams, Faculty, Ethnomusicology, The Evergreen State College
"This engaging biography of a violin tells a story of colonialism, commoditization, and indigenization as the violin travels from Cremona, Italy to gold Rush California, encountering Raramuri, Indian, Indonesian, Persian, and Egyptian music. An excellent introduction to anthropology and material culture studies, and must-read for everyone who loves violins."
—Eliot Bates, Assistant Professor, Ethnomusicology, City University of New York Graduate Center
