Thomas Hilder

Dr. Thomas Hilder

Ethnomusicologist

 

Thomas Hilder’s research focuses on popular and world repertories of the Nordic countries and London, with a particular interest in postcolonial theory, gender studies, transnationalism, and digital media. He completed his PhD in ethnomusicology at Royal Holloway, University of London, in 2010 with a thesis entitled Sámi Soundscapes: Music and the Politics of Indigeneity in Arctic Europe. Based on 18 months of fieldwork in northern Norway, it examined the role of music in shaping the politics of sovereignty, place, cultural heritage and cosmopolitanism. Since 2011, he has been researching music in queer communities and activism in London, to address debates concerning the globalization of identities of gender and sexuality, and their intersection with class, ethnicity and race. His research has been published in Ethnomusicology Forum (2012) and his monograph Sámi Musical Performance and the Politics of Indigeneity in Northern Europe is under contract with Scarecrow Press. He is lead editor of the book project Music, Indigeneity, Digital Media, which examines the impact of digital media on indigenous music. In addition, he is contributing chapters to books on Nordic popular music, music in European cultural memory, and popular music and gender.

At the University of Hildesheim, Thomas Hilder teaches courses on Nordic music, music and gender, and music and politics. He co-supervise two PhD students at the Center for World Music as part of the project The Formation and Transformation of Musical Archives in Western African Societies, funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung. Together with Prof. Philip V. Bohlman (Chicago/Hanover) and Prof. Raimund Vogels (Hildesheim/Hanover), he co-organises the annual International Doctoral Workshop in Ethnomusicology at the Center for World Music and Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. He is co-founder and co-organiser of the Berlin research group BEAM (Berlin Ethnomusicology and the Anthropology of Music) with Dr. des. Nepomuk Riva (Humboldt University, Berlin), as well as the Transdizsiplinäres Forschungsforum with Dr. des. Daniel Gad at the University of Hildesheim. In 2013 he co-organised the guest lecture series Music and Gender together with Prof. Johannes Ismaiel-Wendt at the University of Hildesheim. In addition, Thomas Hilder teaches courses at the Humboldt University, Berlin.

 

Publication list:

 

Journal Article

Hilder, Thomas (2012): “Repatriation, Revival and Transmission: The Politics of a Sámi Musical Heritage,” Ethnomusicology Forum, 21(2), pp. 161-179.

 

Monograph

Hilder, Thomas (forthcoming): Sámi Music, Performance and the Politics of Indigeneity in Northern Europe. Scarecrow Press: Lanham & Plymouth.

 

Edited Volume

Hilder, Thomas, Henry Stobart, Shzr Ee Tan (eds) (in preparation): Music, Indigeneity, Digital Media.

 

Book Chapters

Hilder, Thomas (forthcoming): “Sámi Popular Music, Festival, Indigeneity,” in Popular Music in the Nordic Countries: Music, Identity, and Social Change in the Early 21st Century. Edited by Fabian Holt and Antti-Ville Kärjä.

Hilder, Thomas (in preparation): “Introduction,” in Music, Indigeneity, Digital Media. Edited by Thomas Hilder, Henry Stobart and Shzr Ee Tan.

Hilder, Thomas (in preparation): "Sámi Articulations of Indigeneity through Digital Media," in Music, Indigeneity, Digital Media. Edited by Thomas Hilder, Henry Stobart and Shzr Ee Tan.

 

Reviews

Hilder, Thomas (2012): “Soundscapes Rostock: An Ethnomusicology View of City Sounds – Website Review,” Yearbook for Traditional Music, vol.44, pp. 233-234

Aktuelle Forschungsaktivitäten

Keynote Lecture at the "Symposium on Nordic Identity in Contemporary Popular Music"

Dr. Thomas Hilder gave a keynote lecture at the "Symposium om nordisk indentitet i nyere populærmusik" (Symposium on Nordic Identity in Contemporary Popular Music), held on 29th November at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory, Copenhagen. The symposium brought together local and international scholars, musicians and cultural activists to explore the ways in which notions of 'Nordic-ness' have shaped the performance, production... [MEHR]

"In the Balance: Indigeneity, Performance, Globalization" – Konferenzteilnahme von Dr. Thomas Hilder

Dr. Thomas Hilder participated at the international conference "In the Balance: Indigeneity, Performance, Globalization" in London from 24th to 27th October 2013. The conference was a culmination of the interdisciplinary project Indigeneity in the Contemporary World: Performance, Politics, Belonging led by Professor Helen Gilbert, at Royal Holloway, University of London with funding from the European Research Council... [MEHR]