Taking place at the University of Sheffield, researchers “will take an unflinching look at the white-centricity of folk music repertory, performers and audience by conducting fieldwork to shed light on long-standing vernacular singing practices of ethnic minority cultures in England”.
They then hope to “increase accessibility to the folk club scene and take the first step in a process of decolonisation within the folk music canon”.
The project has been awarded £1,485,400 from the taxpayer-funded UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), under its “future leaders fellowship’’. It has also been granted extra funds on top of this from bodies such as Research England (which also falls under the remit of UKRI).
Prof Dennis Hayes, director of Academics for Academic Freedom, told The Telegraph: “Journalists will be pleased to know that there will be an endless supply of stories about disciplines being told by universities to ‘decolonise’ and of money being spent on studies of ‘whiteness’ in any and every conceivable subject.
A new toolkit for ‘decolonising’ philosophy in universities dismisses canonical western philosophers from Plato to Wittgenstein as ‘dead white males’ who engaged in “armchair theorising” and must now make way for voices from the ‘Global South’.https://t.co/wOsgdTPYa7
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) June 20, 2024
“The reason for this is institutional groupthink in universities. Universities have adopted the need for decolonisation, and the victim hierarchy of intersectional theory, as essential to upholding their inclusive values. This groupthink is a threat to academic freedom. It silences almost all opposition as academics fear being charged with racism if they speak up against being told what to think.
Fay Hield, professor of music at the University of Sheffield, said: “The term decolonisation is often misinterpreted. Our research highlights the different under-recognised communities who have helped to establish cultural life in England. Folk music is a constantly evolving genre, which has taken influences from a diverse range of people over centuries. It is part of the UK’s cultural heritage and should be celebrated. Our aim is to break down the barriers for people to get involved in folk music. Opening up the genre to different audiences will help to sustain the nation’s folk music for decades to come.”
History lecturers at Liverpool University are being urged to "problematise" whiteness and heterosexuality in their teaching — the Russell Group institution's new 'diversity' guidance also proposes compulsory inclusivity training for academic staff.https://t.co/W8SHRj1N9r
— The Free Speech Union (@SpeechUnion) June 18, 2024
I doubt that.
No, he's right. American folk music was influenced by a combination of a lot of different traditional music, including African slave music. A specific example is Lead Belly who heavily influenced modern music. He was covered by bands like CCR, Nirvana, and The Beach Boys.
I’m not referring to modern music brother. Curt Cobain is not folk music. Current day music is not organic. Punk rock was half organic, pub rock is 3/4 organic. Grunge is a meme pushed by record companies..
You're not hearing him. Tons of Rock & Roll artists do covers of famous folk songs from 90 years ago, many of which were put out by black artists.
This is because Folk music is where almost all modern American music originates. Plenty of that folk music is white, but tons of it is black as well. As he said, "Negro Spirituals" were extremely popular and were adapted multiple times. So was blues.
Hell, in many cases, Minstrel Tunes were white people, forming 'black' bands, preforming knock-off versions of of those same spirituals.
If you don't believe me that black music existed and was popular in fold, please consult the primary sources which will cite it to you.
I'm not referring to modern music either.....
I'm pointing out that modern music was heavily influenced by Lead Belly, an American Folk musician from the 1930s and 40s, who was influenced by African slave songs.
American Folk music was influenced by a lot of different types of folk music, including African folk music. To deny that is just retarded.
That is a bit muddy. Most folk music is not mixed. I'd rather just remove such influences from my life. I'm divorcing myself from what I don't care about culturally.
Yeah man.