Presser Music Library

"Pathways to Tamil Diaspora Worship through Ragam Education in the U.S."

About Dr. Schuck: 

I am an ethnomusicologist, educator, flutist, and vocalist teaching as an Adjunct Professor at Wells School of Music this year. As an alumna of the music education and flute performance programs here in 2017, I pursued graduate studies after my time as an undergrad at West Chester; heading south to the University of Miami to complete a master's in musicology. During my master's program I connected with the South Indian musical community in the greater Miami area and began studying Karnatak classical vocal and flute music. In 2019 I spent time in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India to 

study Tamil language, culture, and music on a fellowship supported by the American Institute of Indian Studies. After returning from India, I spent 6 months substituting as a music teacher in K-12 schools throughout Chester County through the COVID shutdown. In 2020, I moved to Denton, TX to start my Ph.D. In Ethnomusicology at the University of North Texas and continued to develop research interests in bi-musical education throughout South Asia and the U.S. diaspora. I'm happy to be back on the Ram team again!

What I teach: 

Here at Wells, I teach "Global Soundscapes: Musical Modes of Engagement." In this course, we use a variety of listening models to explore and analyze various musical traditions within and beyond the U.S. and the Global North. In a typical class, you'll find us learning about these musical traditions, but more significantly,  learning through these traditions as we sing, dance, and otherwise experience music as a varied, embodied, and transformative phenomenon. This semester's version of the course features exploration of music from Africa, South Asia, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, South America, Indonesia, and the U.S.

What is my research? 

My research for this paper explores how Tamil Christian educators are engaging with ragams - the melodic framework used in South Indian classical and some Tamil folk musics - as platforms of vocal agency. These teachers throughout South India and the U.S. draw on embodied practice of melodic frameworks and experiment with these frameworks in their performance, teaching, and outreach. In my research for this paper, I continue to work with South Indian bi-musical educators to learn their pedagogical techniques, musical practices, and personal narratives that define the impact of ragam education in South India and the U.S.

How did I pick this topic? 

The topic for this paper emerged as I was living in Tamil Nadu, South India, completing fieldwork for my broader dissertation project entitled "Karnatak and Western Classical Music Pedagogy in South India’s Music Schools: Transformations of Music Teachers’  Values and Positionalities." For my broader dissertation research, I work with several South Indian music institutions teaching both Western and Karnatak classical music. I also explore how the values of teachers are transforming as music education becomes increasingly globalized and digitally mediated. The topic for this paper emerged from conversations with interlocutors at one of my field sites, the American College, Madurai. Many Tamil Christian educators at this school expressed the importance and flexibility of Karnatak music's raga system, which allowed themto put their pedagogical, musical, and theological beliefs into practice in a unique way. This thread did not make it into my dissertation project for scope's sake, so I am grateful to have the opportunity to further explore ragam education and its impact on teachers in South India and the U.S. diaspora.

How did I do the research?

Between 2023-24, I completed full-time ethnographic fieldwork in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, India. Having completed an immersive Tamil language training program in Madurai in 2019, I relied on these language skills and previous connections with interlocutors and culture bearers in Tamil Nadu to facilitate connections to bi-musical individuals and institutions in South India - those that engage in both Western and Karnatak classical music. A "day in the life" of my research work included: one or two 1-hour+ semi-structured interviews with music teacher participants, completing participant observation in teachers' classrooms and lessons, taking 1-on-1 music lessons from these educators, conferring with other scholarship in the discourse of South Asian studies, and taking fieldnotes. After returning from this fieldwork, I have continued to remain in contact with these educators, connected with their students and sponsors in the U.S., and broadened my inquiry from ragam practice in South India to include ragam practice in the U.S. diaspora.

Outcomes?

By engaging with melodic frameworks through the integrated lenses of pitch, emotional states, socio-economic mobility, and theology, current Tamil music educators facilitate engagement with ragam-based performance communities and from diasporic youth. 

What resources were really helpful in doing the research? Any favorites? 

Since my ethnographic methodology for this project leaned into the importance of connection with people, it's not a surprise that the most helpful resources I found came by engagement with people! Particularly, my interlocutors Dr. Freddy Diwakaran, faculty at The American College Madurai, Rev. Dr. C. Victor, founder of Exodus Music Ministries, and Rev. Dr. Sheila Victor, faculty at the Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, were extremely hospitable toward me in my research period for this project. Much of the depth of this project is possible thanks to their generous, introspective, and ongoing collaboration. Their narratives, songs, memories, and aspirations sustain this project.

I found the following resources particularly helpful in my work, and recommend them to anyone interested in Tamil music, South Asian music education, and music and embodiment!

1. For a detailed, historically and musically rich review of Tamil Christian music and related idioms: Sherinian, Zoe C. Tamil folk music as Dalit liberation theology. Indiana University Press, 2014. Available as an E-Book in the Presser Music Library.

2. For a socio-historical account of Karnatak music's incorporation into institutions of music education in South India: Subramanian, Lakshmi. From the Tanjore court to the Madras music academy: A social history of music in South India. Oxford University Press, 2006.

3. For an excellent take from an ethnomusicologist on musical embodiment, in this case in the context of Hindustani music traditions - but applicable to all: Rahaim, Matthew. Musicking bodies: Gesture and voice in Hindustani music. Wesleyan University Press, 2013. Available as an E-Book in the Presser Music Library.

4. For an ethnography of Karnatak music performance and pedagogy amid a season of transition for this music culture: Weidman, Amanda J. Singing the classical, voicing the modern: The postcolonial politics of music in South India. Duke University Press, 2006. Available as an E-Book in the Presser Music Library.

5. For anyone interested in a workbook-style resource to learn Karnatak tala (rhythmic) percussion system: Nelson, David Paul. Solkattu Manual: An Introduction to the Rhythmic Language of South Indian Music. No. 1. Wesleyan University Press, 2008. Available as an E-Book in the Presser Music Library.

6. For a wonderful ethnography to use as a model for how to "do" and "write" ethnomusicology in sacred spaces: Butler, Melvin L. Island Gospel: Pentecostal music and identity in Jamaica and the United States. University of Illinois Press, 2019. Available as an E-Book in the Presser Music Library.