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Voice and Coded Emotionality in Christian South Korea

Voice and Coded Emotionality in Christian South Korea - Nicholas Harkness, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University

Thursday, February 23, 2012
4:00pm – 5:30pm
Rockefeller 2
Intended Audience(s): Public
Categories: Lectures & Seminars
This lecture discusses the role of the voice in South Korean Christian culture.

Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Seoul's Protestant churches and colleges of music, Prof. Harkness focuses specifically on the way European-style classical singing (sǒngak) has emerged as an emblem modern Christian personhood and national advancement. In particular, he explores how sǒngak singing in Korean churches has moved away from the coded emotionality of suffering and hardship that pervaded Korea's 20th century expressive culture, presenting a stark contrast to styles of vocalization normally associated with the past. Among these Christians, it is claimed that an advanced nation is joyful, healthy, stable, and clean.and so should its voice be.

Sponsored by the Robert A. 1925 and Catherine L. McKennan Fund for Anthropology, the Rockefeller Center and the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Literature.
More about Nicholas Harkness
Anthropology Department Colloquia

For more information, contact:
Therese Perin-Deville
603-646-3256
Permanent URL to this event: https://anthropology.dartmouth.edu/events/event?event=22096

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.