معرفی
Prof. Rachel Beckles Willson is Professor of Intercultural Performing Arts at Leiden University's Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA), with her chair established by Codarts. She also serves as Research Professor (Lector) at Codarts and Willem de Kooning Academie, Rotterdam. Her work bridges scholarship and artistic practice, focusing on cross-cultural collaboration, relationships with the 'other-than-human,' and circular design processes. Earlier research explored music's entanglement with state politics in the Eastern Bloc, decolonial methodologies, and activist work with displaced communities. She leads the open-access project Oudmigrations and authored influential monographs like The Oud: An Illustrated History (2023).
She holds grants including a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship (2015–2018) and the Frances Densmore Prize (2021) for her article analyzing the oud's cultural significance. Her advising includes PhD candidates Laura Lauta van Aysma and Alicia Sanchez Reyes. Her research emphasizes decolonizing knowledge systems and amplifying marginalized narratives through music and art.
