معرفی
Ryan Skinner is a Professor and Area Head for Musicology and Music Theory at The Ohio State University's School of Music. He holds affiliations with French and Italian and Germanic Languages and Literatures departments. His research focuses on African expressive cultures, particularly Mali and Sweden, exploring themes like popular culture, ethics, cultural policy, and racial identity. Skinner authored Bamako Sounds: The Afropolitan Ethics of Malian Music (2015) and Afro-Sweden: Becoming Black in a Color-Blind Country (2022). He is also a children's book author and accomplished kora player.
Education: PhD in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University (2009). His work appears in journals like African and Black Diaspora, IASPM@Journal, and Anthropological Quarterly. Current projects include a collaborative book with filmmaker Dani Kouyaté on West African cinematic traditions. In 2025, he begins a four-year term as director of the Humanities Institute.
Research interests emphasize Afropolitanism, Afro-Swedish identity, and the intersections of music, religion, and politics. His scholarship critiques cultural policy, intellectual property, and postcolonial dynamics in Africa and its diaspora. Awards include recognition for his children's book Sidikiba's Kora Lesson (2008).
Skinner’s interdisciplinary approach bridges anthropology, musicology, and cultural studies. His work addresses migration, memory, and artistic expression across global African communities. Recent articles analyze hip hop ethics, Nordic multiculturalism, and the role of Islam in Malian music.
