south africa 1981-1987

The music and arts of South Africa had been fascinating me for a long time when I was hired in 1981as a Lecturer in Ethnomusicology  at the University of Natal in Durban - the first such position ever created in South Africa. (In 1986, I moved to Johannesburg to work as a full-time researcher at the renowned Institute of African Studies of the University of the Witwatersrand, which was then headed by Charles van Onselen.) South Africa's black population, in the 1980s, was in the final stages of the struggle against the apartheid regime and the arts played a significant role in this struggle. Much of my work during this era was motivated by the broader socio-political context and the desire to gain a better understanding of the extraordinary, but largely undocumented, wealth of black musical traditions.

Apart from several minor topics such as the black gospel and quartet tradition, two research projects : a social history and ethnography of isicathamiya, and a study of the history of popular music in Durban. To learn more about these projects click on the links below.  

         popular music in durban                            isicathamiya