Title: East Asian Voices of Resistance Against Racism in Music
Subject Classification:  Arts, Race and Racism, Equality Diversity Inclusion  
BIC Classification: AB, JFSL, JH
BISAC Classification: SOC031000, PER010000, SOC070000
Binding: Hardback, eBook
Publication date: 18 Mar 2025
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-83711-010-0
ISBN (eBook): 978-1-83711-011-7

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Description

The negative racialization of East Asian musicians in Western classical music manifests through tropes of othering such as “Yellow Peril,” Orientalism, and various harmful stereotypes. This volume centers East Asian voices – in collaboration with our allies – as narrators of our own racialized experiences in music.

Featuring eleven contributions, in a mixture of tone that is academic and personal or reflective – thus deliberately disrupting conventional linguistic norms – the volume brings together our voices in a creative act of resistance against racism in music, and in solidarity with activism that targets inequalities in the arts more broadly. The volume is, to our knowledge, the first of its kind. Intended for musicians and artists, academics and students, it will dynamize topical conversations circling around issues of equality, diversity and inclusion so as to contribute towards positive change.

Biography

Editor(s):  Dr. Ken Ueno is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Maiko Kawabata is Reader in Music at the Royal College of Music and Staff Tutor in Music at the Open University.

Reviews

"For some readers, this book will echo and amplify their own voices that they have been trying to have heard. Others will hear the voices they have been waiting to hear. Yet others may feel uncomfortable, even upset, reading and hearing the inconvenient truths. Those are precisely what this book dares to do: deliver East Asian voices that name the problem and shift the terms of the conversation about music. A brave and essential assemblage of voices that need to be heard with open ears and minds."
- Mari Yoshihara, Professor, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and University of Tokyo

"This is one of the most honest and relevant books I have read. It is the first book to show how colonialism and race have affected the experiences of Western Classical instrumentalists (and some composers) across North America, the UK, Europe and East Asia. The authors offer nuanced analyses and introduce thought-provoking concepts (e.g., Ken Ueno’s notion that non-Western musicians need to “corset” themselves to European standards). There are also informational chapters (e.g., Beata M. Kowalczyk’s catalog of common microaggressions) that can help performers, composers, scholars and educators think about their own or their colleagues’ or students’ experiences. Western classical music remains a field that often shuns discussions of systemic inequalities. Those who speak out are often harassed or isolated. I commend the courage of the activist-authors for speaking their truths. Written in plain English, this book is essential reading for Western classical musicians of East Asian descent and anyone who wants to work toward a more equitable Western classical music industry."
- Eric Hung, Executive Director of the Music of Asian America Research Center (MAARC).