Richard David Williams

Dr. Richard David Williams is a Reader in Music and South Asian Studies at SOAS University of London, where he works in the School of Arts and Department of Music. His research bridges musicology, cultural history, and religious studies, focusing on South Asian music's evolution during colonialism and early modernity.

• BA and MPhil in Theology and Modern South Asian Studies from the University of Oxford
• PhD in Music from King’s College London

Williams' research investigates how music and sound interact with literature, religion, and multilingual environments across South Asia. His first book, The Scattered Court: Hindustani Music in Colonial Bengal (2023), reconstructs interregional musical dialogues between north India and Bengal, centering on the exiled Nawab Wajid ‘Ali Shah's influence. His second book explores Ragamala, an early-modern fusion of musical imagery with poetry, while collaborating with Professor Makoto Kitada on translating the Gulshan-e-‘Ishq epic.

His recent publications trace global music historiography, courtesan performance, and sonic dimensions in Shi'ah and Vaishnava traditions. Williams supervises PhD candidates on diasporic music, film song poetics, and Sri Lankan Tamil musical dislocations. He has held a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

• Scientific Awards:
  • Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy