Differences between Brazilian Ethnomusicology and “World” Ethnomusicology

Towards an Exchange of Ideas that Favors an Anti-Colonial Practice

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the main characteristics of Brazilian Ethnomusicology, drawing a parallel between it and “world” Ethnomusicology – the one monopolized by researchers born or based in Europe and, especially in the USA, due to their economic and ideological dominance. The distinction considered the material and historical reality of Brazil in order to understand some of the discipline's determinations and limitations in the country, especially with regard to academic practices. By scrutinizing the limits of Ethnomusicology as a theoretical-practical discipline, the article seeks to indicate some of the tensions that its expansion in Brazilian higher education can cause, in this way mentioning the conservative and elitist character still present in many universities. In this sense, using Carlos Sandroni's surveys of the state of the discipline in the country in 2008 as a starting point, this article suggests the need to consolidate ourselves as a critical discipline in order to discuss necessary changes in Brazilian society through praxis.