Marié Abe

Marié Abe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Music at the University of California, Berkeley, where she joined the faculty in 2023 after twelve years at Boston University. Her research explores how auditory culture produces social space through the political and affective dimensions of sound in contemporary Japan, Okinawa, Ethiopia, and the United States.

Her educational background includes:

• B.A. in Ethnomusicology/Cultural Anthropology, Swarthmore College (2001)
• M.A. in Ethnomusicology, University of California, Berkeley (2004)
• Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology, University of California, Berkeley (2010)

Abe's research investigates how culturally specific listening practices elucidate power dynamics, human difference, and spatial understandings. Her work spans sound studies, ethnography, human geography, and affect theory, with fieldwork focusing on Japanese street music, US military bases in Okinawa, and sonic connections between Japan and Ethiopia during the Korean War. She emphasizes long-term ethical engagements with interlocutors and draws from locally grounded epistemologies.

Her scientific awards include:

• Peabody Award (2008) for co-producing NPR program 'Squeezebox Stories'
• Reischauer Center for Japanese Studies Fellowship, Harvard University (2010-2011)
• Newhouse Center for the Humanities Fellowship, Wellesley College (2013-2014)
• International Research Center for Japanese Studies Fellowship, Kyoto, Japan (2018-2019)

Abe has advised over a dozen doctoral students at Boston University across diverse geographical contexts including Senegal, Ghana, Cambodia, and Japan. She pioneered public ethnomusicology through the BU Global Music Festival and co-founded the Peabody Award-winning radio documentary 'Squeezebox Stories'. As an active accordion performer, she engages with indie pop, Ethiopian jazz, and free improvisation ensembles, performing at major international festivals including Bonaroo and New Orleans Jazz Festival.