Katherine Schofield

Katherine Schofield, Professor of South Asian Music and History at King’s College London, specializes in Mughal India’s musical and cultural history (1570–1860). A viola-trained historian, she integrates Persian, Urdu, and visual sources to explore intersections of music, empire, emotions, and the supernatural.

• Head of Department of Music, King’s College London
• Fellow, Royal Asiatic Society & Royal Historical Society
• Affiliated Scholar, University of Cambridge Centre for South Asian Studies
• Visiting Professor, University of Pennsylvania Department of South Asia Studies

Research interests span South Asian musicology, Mughal historiography, Sufism, and the social history of musicians. Her ERC-funded MUSTECIO project (€1.18M) examined music’s transformation during colonial transition in India and the Malay world. Her 2024 monograph Music and Musicians in Late Mughal India redefines the field as a finalist in the Prose Awards.

Academic contributions include the documentary Songs of the Sufi (2023) and the edited volumes Tellings and Texts (2015) and Monsoon Feelings (2018). She currently studies Urdu ghazal singing under Vidya Rao.

Honors include British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship (2018) and leadership roles on international boards like the Max Planck Institute. She mentors early-career researchers from Black and Global Majority backgrounds.