Mark Burford

Mark Burford is the R.P. Wollenberg Professor of Music at Reed College and Chair of the American Studies program. His research and teaching focus on 20th-century U.S. popular music, particularly African American music post-World War II, alongside late 18th- and 19th-century Austro-German concert music. He joined Reed in 2007.

Publications: Author of Mahalia Jackson and the Black Gospel Field (Oxford UP, 2019) and editor of The Mahalia Jackson Reader. His work appears in journals and edited collections.

Awards: Recipient of the 2012 Society for American Music Irving Lowens Award for his article on Sam Cooke.

Research Interests: Interdisciplinary exploration of music’s cultural, social, and historical contexts. Special emphasis on African American musical traditions and their intersection with broader American cultural narratives.