Ethnomusicology
jbrown@g.harvard.edu
Jordan R. Brown (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology and Presidential Scholar at Harvard University with a secondary field in African and African American Studies. She is currently chair of Harvard University’s Graduate Music Forum, co-chair of Project Spectrum, and a UNESCO Youth Ambassador for Peace and Intercultural Dialogue. Originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, she obtained her bachelor of arts degree in both music and statistics from The University of Virginia (class of 2020) under the musical supervision of Noel Lobley, Ph.D. and A.D. Carson, Ph.D., and the statistical supervision of Gretchen Martinet, Ph.D. Her undergraduate thesis titled “From Surface Pop to Influential Art: A Homecoming Story,” was accompanied with original compositions inspired by the racial politics addressed in Beyoncé’s Homecoming. She also holds a master’s degree in ethnomusicology (class of 2022) from Florida State University under the supervision of Frank Gunderson, Ph.D. Her master’s thesis, entitled “Intellectual Misogynoir: Hip-Hop and Rhythm and Blues in The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” focused on genre studies, gender studies, and African American popular music. Brown’s current research interests include Black underground politics, Black feminist theory and queer theory, Black alternative music, and video game music, all specifically in the late 20th century. Her co-authored article, “The Black Power Station – A Model for Liberated Arts Activism,” was published in the Imbiza Journal for African Writing in 2021, and she has a book review in the Journal of Popular Music and a book chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Pop, both forthcoming. Brown’s dissertation, tentatively titled “The Black Alternative: A Cultural and Musical Phenomenon” uses Black politics, Black feminist theory, and “quare” theory to investigate the word “alternative” as it is used on genres commercially coded as “Black,” specifically alternative R&B and alternative hip-hop; cultural theory is further implemented to examine how these hybrid genres serve as a refuge for intersectional minorities within the Black identity. Her work is supported by the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute, where she will serve as the Dorothy Porter Fellow during the 2025–2026 academic year.
In addition to her scholarly interests, Brown also composes musical arrangements and performs and releases original songs under her pseudonym J-Renee. She identifies as a performer-scholar and intends to continue bridging the two practices in her future work. For more information, visit jordanrbrown.com.
Photo Credit: Michelle Bartolo-Cruz