Online Oral History Ceremony To Honor Professor Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje
On January 11, 2019, a symposium and concert will be held at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to honour Professor Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, a renowned scholar in the field of ethnomusicology. The event marks the re-opening of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive and is themed around "Documenting the Sounds of Africa: Archiving, instruments, and Researching the Local."
Professor DjeDje, who retired from UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music in 2013, has made significant contributions to the understanding of African American, African, and Jamaican music traditions. Her academic journey began at Fisk University, where she earned a B.A. in music, specializing in piano, in the 1960s. The tumultuous times at Fisk were not lost on her, as the 1960s protests at the university are mentioned in her oral history.
Her career as a scholar took flight at UCLA, where she pursued her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. She served as the Director of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive from 2000 to 2007. Her professional career at UCLA spanned from 1979 to 2013, with stints in the Department of Music (1979-1989) and the Department of Ethnomusicology (1989-2013).
The oral history of Professor DjeDje, available online on the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research website, provides a comprehensive account of her academic background, career accomplishments, and research on African American music. The oral history includes a table of contents, DjeDje's curriculum vitae, a biographical summary, and a full transcript of an interview conducted by Donna Armstrong.
The oral history sheds light on DjeDje's early musical influences and the role of her mentors in the field of ethnomusicology, including Peter Crossley Holland, David Morton, Mantle Hood, and J. H. Kwabena Nketia. It also delves into her childhood in Jesup, Georgia, and the family values passed to her from her parents and grandparents.
One of DjeDje's notable works is the book Fiddling Is My Joy, which examines the history of African American fiddling from the seventeenth to mid-twentieth century and its influence on early blues, jazz, and jug band music. She also contributed extensive collections of recordings and research materials to the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, facilitating the study of cultural identity, social norms, and musical traditions within African diasporic communities.
The symposium, which will take place from 8 am to 7 pm, promises to be an enlightening and entertaining event, with discussions on archiving, instruments, and researching the local. The concert will undoubtedly showcase the rich musical heritage that Professor DjeDje has spent her career studying and preserving.
References:
[1] DjeDje, J. C. (2008). Fiddling is My Joy: African American Fiddling in the Antebellum South. University of Illinois Press.
[2] UCLA Library. (n.d.). Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje Oral History. Retrieved from https://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special-collections/oral-history/oral-history-online/view-all/jacqueline-cogdell-djedje
[3] UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. (n.d.). Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje. Retrieved from https://music.ucla.edu/people/faculty/jacqueline-cogdell-djedje/
Education and self-development continue to be crucial aspects of Professor Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje's life, as evidenced by her pursuit of online education, such as the UCLA Library's comprehensive oral history about her academic background and career accomplishments. Furthermore, learning from her work, like her book "Fiddling is My Joy," offers insights into African American music traditions and the importance of archiving, instruments, and researching local musical histories.
