SEM Board Opposes U.S. Executive Order Banning Immigrants

The Board of the Society for Ethnomusicology joins other constituents of the American Council of Learned Societies in calling for the immediate retraction of the U.S. Executive Order of January 27, 2017, that bans or puts limitations on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. This Order violates the Society’s core values of respect for human diversity, inclusivity, free inquiry, creativity, and the open exchange of ideas.

For over sixty years, SEM has served as a U.S.-based international forum for the study of music across all cultural contexts and historical periods. Within the U.S., the field of ethnomusicology has flourished in the academy and public sphere through the interactions of scholars, musicians, and students from countries throughout the world. Through these exchanges, ethnomusicologists have advanced public understanding and appreciation of the world’s vast musical and cultural heritage and its significance for civil society.

The new Executive Order is, at present, disrupting the movement of musicians and other artists, scholars, teachers, students, and their family members into and out of the U.S. A radical departure from American values and goals, it undermines the mission of colleges and universities, scholarly societies, and arts-presenting institutions. SEM will work with other organizations to oppose this Order and to offer support for colleagues affected by its directives.

The Board of Directors
Society for Ethnomusicology
www.ethnomusicology.org