Desperately Seeking Impact

This piece interrogates and problematises the notion of impact, with particular reference to ethnomusicology and to university music pedagogy more broadly. Following a brief overview of ethnomusicology’s historical engagement with matters of impact, I ask how we might account for not only the consequences of our own research but also the work of those we study and collaborate with in the terms required by UK government and funding council agendas. The piece began life as a contribution to a round table at the British Forum for Ethnomusicology conference 'The Impact of Ethnomusicology' in 2010.