Carol Muller

Carol Muller is a Professor of Music at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Music, housed within the School of Arts & Sciences. Her work bridges ethnomusicology, gender studies, and performance studies with a focus on South African musical traditions, diaspora communities, and pedagogical innovation. She directs the Penn in Grahamstown program and the Interdisciplinary Music Minor in Jazz and Popular Music Studies.

Her research explores intersections between music, religion, migration, and technology. Key projects include studies on South African jazz, Shembe hymns, and Nazarite women’s rituals. Muller pioneered civic engagement initiatives with the Netter Center and developed one of LPS's most popular online courses, Music 50: Introduction to World Music and Cultures.

Her publications include *Musical Echoes* (2011), *Shembe Hymns* (2010), and foundational texts like *Rituals of Fertility* (1999). She actively mentors graduate students conducting global research and is a skilled gumboot dancer.