
Kaleb Goldschmitt
Associate Professor of Music
Popular music scholar of Brazil and Latin America; Jazz and the African Diaspora; Music in Film and Audiovisual Media; Music Industry; Music and Disability
I am an ethnomusicologist and popular music scholar with an emphasis on Brazilian and Latin American musical cultures. My first book project, Bossa Mundo: Brazilian Music in Transnational Media Industries (2020: Oxford University Press), studies the moments of popular breakthrough for Brazilian music among English-speaking publics in the United States and United Kingdom. From the late 1950s through the late 2010s, the book covers such genres as bossa nova, cool jazz, easy listening, jazz fusion, world music, hip-hop, and more.
In addition to academic publications, I enjoy contributing to magazines and blogs aimed at a broader audience. These include public lectures and guest spots on public radio and podcasts. When the weather is good, you will often see me around Wellesley on my bicycle.
Education
- B.A., University of California-Los Angeles
- M.A., University of California-San Diego
- Ph.D., University of California-Los Angeles
Current and upcoming courses
Metropolises bring together diverse groups of people in concentrated locations all over the world. Along with heightened crime and poverty, they are also home to an astounding variety of musical innovations. This course offers an exploration of disparate musical cultures in major metropolises of the world. Throughout the semester, we will study major cities, the major musical developments to come from them, and the cultural conflicts and celebrations that emerge in contemporary urban life. In addition to local styles, we will discuss such global styles as hip-hop, punk, pop, dancehall, rock, roots music, “world music,” and electronic dance music, and how they relate to the urban environments where they were developed and where they continue to thrive.