Semionauts of Tradition: Music, Culture, and Identity in Contemporary Singapore by Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray and Chee-Hoo Lum (review)

Abstract

addition to discussing decision outcomes, had provided more details on how these women weighed the prestige of performing publicly against its risks. At times, Merchant could have also been more detailed about the significance of these women’s choices. Merchant’s book is remarkably accessible for readers not familiar with Central Asia. She provides succinct contextual information in the book’s introduction and engages with related literature on Central Asia and ethnomusicology throughout her text, providing a gateway into reading more about the region. Her focus on repertoire and pedagogy would make the book good for an upper-division topical music course, as it could help music students think critically about student-teacher relationships and the role of orality in learning notation-based music traditions in institutional settings. Additionally, Merchant’s work is an example of a true intersectional interpretation—rather than portraying femininity as additive, she demonstrates how modernizing and institutionalizing forces in music traditions together contribute to a femininity that appears to naturally embody nationalism. Scholars who engage with feminist theory will find her work worth reading. Through biography and ethnographic details, Merchant shows how women have always been active agents in Central Asian music traditions, shaping how people experience and understand national culture.