Joanna Demers

Joanna Demers is a professor of musicology at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music, where she also serves as associate dean for faculty affairs. Her research bridges philosophical inquiry and contemporary music studies, focusing on post-1945 experimental and popular genres, electronic music, and the impact of intellectual property law on creativity.

• PhD in Musicology, Princeton University (2002)
• DMA in Contemporary Flute Performance, UC San Diego (2002)

Her scholarly work includes publications such as Listening Through the Noise: The Aesthetics of Experimental Electronic Music and Steal This Music: How Intellectual Property Law Affects Musical Creativity. She also explores these themes through speculative fiction, authoring novels like Anatomy of Thought-Fiction: CHS Report, 2214 and Drone and Apocalypse: An Exhibit Catalog for the End of the World.

Demers' recent publications span topics like ambient drone music, cassette tape revival as creative anachronism, and the legal and stylistic implications of sound-alikes. Her work often intersects with digital media, aesthetics, and cultural theory.

• American Association for University Women Grant
• DAAD Fellowship
• Joseph Kerman Fund Grant

She advocates for the integration of classical and contemporary studies in musicology, emphasizing the importance of historical context for performers. Her forthcoming novel, The Eddan Collective, critiques commodified education and late capitalism through a campus narrative intertwined with spiritual and philosophical inquiries.