Anna Stirr

Anna Stirr is an Associate Professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and served as Director of the Center for South Asian Studies (2021-2024). She holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University (2009) and postdoctoral fellowships at Oxford University and Leiden University. Her research focuses on music, politics, and intimacy in South Asia, particularly Nepal and the Himalayas. She has authored Singing Across Divides: Music and Intimate Politics in Nepal (Oxford UP, 2017), winner of the Bernard S. Cohn Prize.

Education:

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

Research Interests: Ethnomusicology of Nepal, folk music performance, cultural politics, and the intersection of music with migration and media circulation. Current projects explore Nepal’s 'progressive song' history and the legacy of musicologist Subi Shah.

Awards & Recognition:

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

Teaching & Performance: Taught at Oxford, Leiden, and the New School. Performs Nepali folk music, including dohori singing, bansuri flute, and madal drum. Her documentary Singing A Great Dream (2019) won awards at the Darbhanga International Film Festival.