About
the world of music (new series) is an international scholarly journal dedicated to reporting and reflecting current theoretical perspectives on and research in the field of the world’s music and dance.
While every issue is designed to focus on a specific topic, the world of music (new series) does not confine its attention to any single region or methodological approach. We publish original, and sometimes challenging, contributions from all over the world, aimed at musicologists and musicians, dance researchers, anthropologists, cultural studies and post-colonial studies scholars, and others.
The articles contained in the world of music (new series) are informed by a variety of theoretical perspectives but devoted to a shared goal: understanding the musics of the world, their histories, and their manifold environments. It is our aim to generate a productive and creative dialogue between music researchers in disparate locations and contexts.
the world of music (new series) is a Diamond open access journal, but also available in print. For more information on the print version and how to subscribe, please visit VWB Publishers.
Announcements
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2026-01-08
Arabic translations of Acces to Waxes II [the world of music (new series) 13 (2), 2023] are now online
All contributions of the second part of a double issue entitled "Access to Waxes – The Collections from the Arab World of the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Digitization and Open Access" (published in English in December 2024) are now also available in Arabic translation, to be found online with their English equivalents. They include an introductory position statement by Dörthe Schmidt and a set of four articles, written by Souheir I. Nadde, Christian Czychowski & Lea Riechers, Lando Kirchmair and Mèhèza Kalibani. A general introduction to both issues can be found in the first part of this double issue (also available in Arabic translation).
–Barbara Titus
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2025-12-18
the world of music (new series) 14 (2), 2025 now online
This themed issue presents current research on the interplay between music, sound and the environment across the Australasian region and beyond. Seven case studies explore how the relationship between people and their environment is mediated through music and/or sound and how they foster a more holistic rather than human-centered mindset, which might well be fundamental in redressing environmental crises. In the articles on music and dance traditions in this volume, sound and movement encompass the socio-cultural construction of place: spaces that have meanings through people's interaction with the physical environment over time. The issue emphasises Indigenous authorship and ownership of place-centred knowledge, working against the dominant frameworks which have through history prioritised representation of white, university-educated voices, neglecting the voices of those educated outside of these systems including Indigenous scholars and tradition bearers. The contributing authors all work within an academic tradition which values long term relationships with communities and reciprocity to ensure that there are benefits which go back to the communities and people who have shared this information. Many of these activities are discussed in the articles in this special issue.
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2025-06-30
the world of music (new series) 14 (1), 2025 now online
This issue explores the creation of a performance of the core Mande epic of Sunjata – the tale of the eponymous hero (Sunjata Keita) who founded the kingdom of Mali in the thirteenth century CE – as part of the Singing Storytellers Symposium held in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada in October 2014. It brings together contributions which present a variety of perspectives on the project, its cultural and intellectual roots, its challenges, and its achievements. The articles also to trace the impact and influence of that project in the decade since its inception. Our hope is that this multifaceted approach to representing a collaborative research-creation project may not only provide a record of an event recognizing an often overlooked location within the larger Black Atlantic, but also contribute to the developing discussion of the methods and potential of practice- and performance-based ethnomusicologies.
–Barbara Titus
Volume 14, No. 2Ecomusicology in Indigenous Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and beyond
Issue description
Current ecomusicological research has opened new avenues for exploring human-environment relationships. In this volume we explore the close relationship between music, sound and the environment in Indigenous societies of Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and beyond. The article ... See the full issue