Anna M Stirr

Anna M Stirr is an Associate Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, where she previously served as Director of the Center for South Asian Studies (2021–2024). She holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from Columbia University, alongside prior teaching roles at Oxford University, Leiden University, and the New School. Her research focuses on music, dance, language, and politics in South Asia, especially Nepal and the Himalayas, with expertise in dohori folk songs and their sociopolitical dimensions. She is a performer of Nepali folk music, trained in bansuri flute, Hindustani classical singing, and madal drum.

Education:

• B.A. in Music and Religious Studies, Lawrence University
• M.A., MPhil, PhD in Ethnomusicology, Columbia University

Research Interests:

• Music and Intimate Politics in Nepal
• Migration, Media Circulation, and Globalization
• Revolutionary Song Movements in Nepal
• Music and Religion in South Asia

Notable Works:

• Singing Across Divides: Music and Intimate Politics in Nepal (Oxford UP, 2017) – Winner of the Bernard S. Cohn Prize
• Documentary film Singing A Great Dream: The Revolutionary Songs and Life of Khusiram Pakhrin (2019) – Won Best International Documentary and Director awards at the Darbhanga Film Festival

Awards:

• 2024 Kalibhakta Pant International Folklore Prize
• 2021 Jana Sewa Shree (Government of Nepal)
• 2016 Ali Miya Prize

Grants & Labs:

• Current projects include compiling Nepali folk music materials and translating works by Subi Shah
• Active in performance-based research and cultural preservation initiatives