David Novak is Associate Professor of Music at the University of California, Santa Barbara, with affliiations in Anthropology, Film and Media Studies, and East Asian Langages and Cultural Studies. His work explores the relationship between modern cultures and the circulation of musical media. His research interests include globalization of popular music, remediation, protest culture, and social practices of listening. Prior to this, he taught at Sarah Lawrence College and at Columbia University, where he was appointed in the Society of Fellows in the Humanities. His research has been supported by Fulbright, the Social Science Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Association for Asian Studies, and the Japan Foundation.
Novak's recent work focuses on the politics of sound in urban Japan, particularly in the impact of noise regulations on homeless and migrant labor communities in South Osaka, and on the role of music, sound, and noise in the antinuclear movement in post-3.11 Japan, as well as the emergence of trans-Asian networks and cultural policies around experimental and improvised music. He is the founder of the Music and Sound Interest Group in the American Anthropological Association, and serves as Director of the Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Music at UCSB.
Curriculum Vitae
Red Bull Music Academy
New Books Network
Books and Ideas