Harper hired as new Assistant Professor of Musicology
calendar icon14 Apr 2021
Paula Clare Harper, formerly a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis, has been named the new Assistant Professor of Musicology in the Glenn Korff School of Music. She will teach courses in music history, ethnomusicology, and popular music, as well as special topics courses.
“I’m delighted to become a Husker.” Harper said of her appointment. “I’m very much looking forward to working with the warm and encouraging team at the Glenn Korff School of Music, and to be continuing my work studying music and the internet with the support of the rich resources at UNL.”
Harper completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Music from the University of Chicago in 2010, followed by a Master of Arts in Music History from the University of Washington. In 2019, she completed her PhD at Columbia University. The title of her dissertation: “Unmute This: Circulation, Sociality, and Sound in Viral Media”, focused on her primary research regarding the relationships between music, sound, and the internet. Her current book project, Viral Musicking and the Rise of Noisy Platforms, documents the early 21st-century rise of ubiquitous social media platforms through an understanding of them as mechanisms for facilitating virality.
Dr. Sergio Ruiz, Director of the Glenn Korff School of Music, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Harper to the Glenn Korff School of Music. Her areas of expertise will open up exciting and diverse areas of research for our school, and she will be a wonderful addition to our world-class faculty.”
Dr. Harper has produced scholarship on pop stars Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, the video platform TikTok, and various internet musical genres. Her work and expertise have been consulted for publications in Vice, Flare, and The Washington Post’s The Lily, and she has appeared on the podcasts Field Notes and Sound Expertise. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Harper worked with fellow musicologist Will Robin to found and run the Music Scholarship at a Distance virtual colloquium series, and with Christa Bentley and Kate Galloway she is organizing the 2021 virtual Taylor Swift Study Day.
“We are very excited to welcome Dr. Paula Harper to the Glenn Korff School of Music and the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts as Assistant Professor of Musicology,” said Charles O’Connor, Endowed Dean of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts. “Her research examining the relationship between music, sound and the internet is very timely. We look forward to her bringing her expertise to Nebraska.”