Ethnomusicology and Music Education
Patricia Shehan Campbell is recognized for her contributions to community music, children's musical culture, applied ethnomusicology, and the integration of multiculturalism within school music education, as well as her work in World Music Pedagogy.
In June 2022, Campbell retired from her role at the University of Washington School of Music, where she taught both undergraduate and graduate courses that bridged Ethnomusicology and Music Education. Her teaching encompassed subjects such as music for children, world music pedagogy, and ethnographic research in music. During her tenure, she chaired the programs in Ethnomusicology and Music Education, played a pivotal role in establishing the BA in Ethnomusicology degree, and developed initiatives focused on music and community, including the Music Alive! program in the Yakima Valley, along with partnerships in Myanmar and Tanzania. In 2000, she was appointed the Donald E. Petersen Professor of Music, a designation reserved for distinguished faculty at the University of Washington. Her academic interests include music in early and middle childhood, world music pedagogy, and the incorporation of movement as a teaching tool. Campbell has delivered lectures and conducted clinics across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. She has published extensively on topics related to cross-cultural music learning, children's musical cultures, cultural diversity in music education, and the study of global musical traditions within K-12 and university curricula.
In recognition of her work on the transmission, teaching, and preservation of traditional music in educational contexts, Campbell received the Taichi Traditional Music Award in China in 2013 and the Koizumi Prize in Ethnomusicology in Japan in 2017. Additionally, she was honored with the Senior Researcher Award from the Society for Research in Music Education in 2002, acknowledging her extensive research contributions, and the Kent State University Distinguished Alumni Award in 2014. In 2021, she was awarded the PBS-KCTS Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching music relevant to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and she also received an Honorary Membership in the Society for Ethnomusicology that same year.
Campbell serves as the editor of the seven-volume World Music Pedagogy series, published by Routledge between 2018 and 2021, which focuses on diversifying musical content and teaching methods in schools. This series includes co-authored works such as School-Community Intersections (2019) and Teaching World Music in Higher Education (2021). She is also the co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Children's Musical Cultures (2013) and the Global Music Series (2004-present), which features books and recordings by 28 ethnomusicologists studying the world's musical cultures, alongside an all-encompassing textbook on Global Music Cultures (2021). Throughout her career, Campbell has authored over 150 books, chapters, and articles in peer-reviewed journals, including notable titles such as Songs in Their Heads (1998; 2010), Music, Education, and Diversity: Bridging Cultures and Communities (2018), Redefining Music Studies in an Age of Change (2017), Teaching Music Globally (2004), Free to Be Musical: Group Improvisation in Music (2010), Multicultural Perspectives in Music Education (2010, 3rd edition), Music in Childhood (2018, 4th-enhanced edition), Musician and Teacher (2008), Tunes and Grooves in Music Education (2008), Music in Cultural Context (1996), and Lessons from the World (1991).
From 2008 to 2018, Campbell chaired the Board for Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, where she helped guide the development of curricula utilizing archived recordings to enhance the teaching of American and global music in educational settings. Since 2009, she has contributed to the Association for Cultural Equity, focusing on curricular design for the Global Jukebox and the repatriation of Alan Lomax's archived recordings. Campbell has held positions on the boards of the Society for Ethnomusicology (as vice president), the International Society for Music Education, and The College Music Society (as president). She is also an active contributor to research journals and has served on various editorial committees, including the Journal of Research in Music Education, Psychology of Music, Ethnomusicology, Research Studies in Music Education, Music Educators Journal, and the College Music Symposium.
Campbell holds a Ph.D. from Kent State University and a B.F.A. from Ohio University. Additionally, she is a certified teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics and continues to enhance her understanding of music transmission processes through applied lessons with visiting artists, culture-bearers, and community musicians.