Latin American and Latino Studies Professor Wins Ruth A. Solie Award
Associate Professor of Latin American and Latino Studies Alejandro L. Madrid has received the 2012 Ruth A. Solie Award of the American Musicological Society (AMS) for his book "Transnational Encounters. Music and Performance at the U.S-Mexico Border." This prize is given annually by the AMS to a collection of musicological essays of exceptional merit published during the previous year in any language and in any country and edited by a scholar or scholars.
The prize committee chose Madrid's edited volume and explained that:"This anthology is a dynamic example of new geographical and cultural realms of musical scholarship. Like the title of the book itself, the editor has chosen topics which traverse borders between ethnomusicology and historical musicology, making these distinctions refreshingly irrelevant. Each essay opens some unexpected window into a deeply engaging environment of contemporary thought. The editor's introductory essay successfully integrates the book as a whole, interweaving theoretical perspectives with thematic observations about transnational cultural politics, encounters and exchanges. The editor brings admirable coherence to a vibrant book, which addresses a wide variety of musical styles and issues from interdisciplinary perspectives."