Based on 2 ½ years of singing and playing with Navajo county western bands, her book, The Sound of Navajo Country: Music, Language and Diné Belonging (forthcoming March 13th, 2017, University of North Carolina Press), examines cultural intimacy and generational nostalgia on the Navajo (Diné) Nation (click here for brief interviews in English and Italian about her research). This book is the first in a series, Critical Indigeneities, edited by J. Kēhaulani Kauanui and Jean M. O’Brien and focusing on contemporary indigenous experience and critical theory. Her research interests include: music and language, anthropology of the voice, politics of authenticity, indigeneity and belonging, music of Native North America, Sardinia and the Appalachian mountains, race and musical genre, music as cultural performance, indigenous language revitalization and U.S. working class expressive cultures. Together with Kerry F. Thompson (Diné), she has a forthcoming article on the recent Navajo Nation presidential election and language fluency debate, titled “The Right to Lead: Language, Iconicity Diné Presidential Politics. Recent articles include “Radmilla’s Voice: Music Genre, Blood Quantum and Belonging on the Navajo Nation” (Cultural Anthropology, 2014) and “Rita(hhh): Placemaking and Country Music on the Navajo Nation” (Ethnomusicology, 2009).
Kristina Jacobsen holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University, the MPhil in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University, a Master’s in Ethnomusicology from Arizona State University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music (flute performance) and History (concentration: Native North America).
Musicology students present their research at UNM 2023 Musicology Student Symposium
Musicology students present their research at UNM 2023 Musicology Student Symposium How can music be used to revitalize a language? How can opera be a journey of healing from trauma? How does a popular music genre interact with the Mexican drug war? How can hyperpop...
UNM Ethnomusicology and Anthropology professor, Kristina Jacobsen, reflects on her recent trip to South Africa with the Diné-led jazz trio, DDAT
How a Song Bridged Diné and Ndebele Worlds An anthropologist recounts a magical moment of songwriting collaboration between Diné (Navajo) and Ndebele artists gathered for the WOMAD Festival in South Africa. By Kristina Jacobsen Originally published November 30, 2022,...
Visiting Scholar Dr. Javier Marín-López to present on Colonial and Baroque Music in the Americas
Visiting Scholar Dr. Javier Marín-López to present on Colonial and Baroque Music in the Americas Visiting Scholar Dr. Javier Marín-López, Professor of Musicology at the University of Jaén, Spain, will present two lectures at UNM this month. He is a scholar specialized...