Katherine Meizel

Katherine Meizel is an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at Bowling Green State University, Ohio. She holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology (2007) and a DMA in Voice (2004), both from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on voice and identity, popular music and media, religion, American identities, and disability studies. She authored Idolized: Music, Media, and Identity in American Idol (2011) and contributes to Slate magazine on topics related to American Idol. Currently, she is co-editing the Oxford Handbook of Voice Studies and completing a monograph titled Multivocality: An Ethnography of Singing on the Borders of Identity.

Education:

• PhD in Ethnomusicology, UCSB, 2007
• Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Voice, UCSB, 2004

Research Interests: Meizel’s work bridges musicology, media studies, and cultural anthropology. She examines how singing mediates identity construction in contexts like reality TV, religious practices, and disability narratives. Her book Idolized analyzes American Idol as a site of cultural and sonic negotiation. Ongoing projects explore interdisciplinary voice studies and the intersections of vocal performance with social categories.

Publications & Projects: Beyond Idolized, her writings on American Idol for Slate (2007–2011) critically dissect the show’s impact on popular culture. Her upcoming monograph expands ethnographic methods to study singing as a tool for navigating identity boundaries. She also collaborates on the Oxford Handbook of Voice Studies, a landmark volume synthesizing global perspectives on vocal expression.

Grants & Advising: No specific grants or advising roles are detailed in the text. However, her editorial and monograph projects suggest active engagement in academic mentorship and collaborative research.

Labs/Teams: No formal lab or team affiliations are mentioned, though her research likely involves fieldwork collaborations and interdisciplinary networks.