Online Honors Ceremony for Professor Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, featuring an Oral History Presentation
In a celebration of the re-opening of the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, a symposium and concert will be held on Friday, 11th January, 2019. The event is dedicated to Professor Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje, a distinguished figure in the field of ethnomusicology.
Professor DjeDje, now Professor Emerita at UCLA, has made significant contributions to the study of African American music traditions and African music. Her career and academic background are documented in an oral history available online at the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
The oral history, which includes a full transcript of an interview conducted by Donna Armstrong, provides a comprehensive account of Professor DjeDje's life and career. It covers her childhood in Jesup, Georgia, her education, and her professional career as a scholar and faculty member in the Department of Music (1979-1989) and the Department of Ethnomusicology (1989-2013).
The oral history also delves into Professor DjeDje's research focus, which includes spirituals and gospel music, as well as African music. It discusses the influence of her early mentors, who introduced her to ethnomusicology and encouraged her to attend UCLA for graduate school. The mentors mentioned include Peter Crossley Holland, David Morton, Mantle Hood, and J. H. Kwabena Nketia.
The oral history also highlights the impact of family values passed down from her parents and grandparents on Professor DjeDje's life and work. It includes a table of contents, her curriculum vitae, and a biographical summary.
The symposium, themed "Documenting the Sounds of Africa: Archiving, instruments, and Researching the Local," will take place from 8 am to 7 pm. The event promises to be an enlightening exploration of Professor DjeDje's work and its impact on ethnomusicology.
In addition to the symposium, a concert will be held to honour Professor DjeDje's contributions to the field. The concert will feature performances that reflect her research areas, offering a musical tribute to her work.
For those interested in learning more about Professor DjeDje's life and work, the oral history can be accessed on the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research website. It offers a unique insight into her personal experiences, research interests, and contributions to the field of ethnomusicology.
Participants of the symposium and concert commemorating Professor Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje's contributions will gain insights into her academic journey in the realm of education-and-self-development, particularly her focus on personal-growth through learning. The oral history documenting her life and career, available online, discusses various aspects of her life, including her roots in Jesup, Georgia, her scholarly pursuits, and her research on African American music traditions and African music.
