معرفی
James O’Leary is the Frederick R. Selch Associate Professor of Musicology at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. His research focuses on Broadway musicals of the 1940s and the intersection of music with political debates during World War II and the Cold War. He is affiliated with the Frederick R. Selch Center for the Study of American Culture and draws upon the Frederick R. Selch Collection of American Music History. O’Leary has lectured for the Metropolitan Opera and holds a PhD from Yale University, alongside degrees from Williams College and Oxford University.
Education:
- PhD, Yale University
- MA and MPhil, Yale University
- MSt, Oxford University
- BA, Williams College
Research Interests: O’Leary explores how composers strategically projected aesthetic hierarchies (high vs. popular art) to engage in political discourse. His work analyzes Broadway musicals like Finian’s Rainbow and Oklahoma!, examining their role in civil rights movements and Cold War contexts. He also studies the music of Kurt Weill and Stephen Sondheim.
Publications & Awards:
- Winner of the Transnational Opera Studies Conference Award (2017)
- Recipient of the Virgil Thomson Fellowship (2022)
- Author of Exit Right: Broadway and America’s Hidden Avant-Garde (Oxford University Press, 2018)
Teaching & Leadership: O’Leary teaches courses on American popular music, musical theater, and material culture. He founded the Frederick R. Selch Center, which supports student research and interdisciplinary collaborations. His courses often integrate the Selch Collection’s archival resources.
