Ruthie Meadows

Ruthie Meadows is an Associate Professor of Ethnomusicology at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), within the School of Music. She is also a Faculty Affiliate of the Gender, Race, and Identity (GRI) Department. Contact details include phone (775) 682-8970 and email rmeadows@unr.edu, located at VSG Building, Room 101.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology, University of Pennsylvania (2017)
• B.A. in Latin American Studies and Spanish, Tulane University (2005)

Research focuses on global music and sound circulations in Hispanophone and circum-Caribbean contexts, emphasizing gender studies, sexuality, ritual music, jazz, and ecology. Her work explores transnational dialogues between Cuba and Nigeria, revolutionary policies, and LGBTQ+ activism. Notable publications include Efficacy of Sound: Power, Potency, and Promise in the Translocal Ritual Music of Cuban Ifá-Òrìṣà (2023), and she received the SEM Jaap Kunst Prize (2021) for her article on women and batá percussion.

Her articles and book chapters address Cuban women in jazz fusion, queer ecologies, and digital LGBTQ activism. Current projects include a second book on Cuban women in jazz and a fellowship at the University of Miami’s Cuban Heritage Collection (2025).

• Awards: SEM Jaap Kunst Prize (2021), Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Presidential Fellowship (2025).

Her research extends to music tourism and Caribbean artivism, with a focus on intersectional identities and transnational cultural dynamics. Meadows is also an accomplished musician, playing electric guitar, violin, bass, and cavaquinho.