Visiting Instructor and Jeffrey Campbell Fellow in Music Timothy
Mangin has brought the world’s music to St. Lawrence
University. Jazz, bebop and hip hop are among
the topics of courses he teaches; his research is
concerned with popular music and culture in West Africa and
the African diaspora (dispersal of native peoples).
Mangin explains
that he is looking at new ways to consider “retention
of African cultural expressive features in the New World.” He
has spoken on Senegalese and U.S. rap at Lincoln Center and on Afropop Worldwide's
Hip Deep series.
“Teaching at St. Lawrence has been rewarding and
enriching,” says
Mangin, who holds a Master of Philosophy in Music (Ethnomusicology) degree from
Columbia University and is completing his Ph.D., also in music (ethnomusicology),
there. “I value the small classes and enthusiasm of the students. St.
Lawrence has been very supportive in allowing me to bring in top-notch
jazz, Latin and African musicians for performances and workshops. There is nothing
like following up classroom discussions on how modern-day griots are world-savvy
cosmopolitans by going outside for a workshop with visiting Senegalese
griots who not only teach us drumming and dancing but also explain how they continue
their ‘traditional’ roles in contemporary society.”
In
his spare time, Mangin has found in the area “a wide
range of activities: hiking in the Adirondacks, playing
in a jazz trio, and taking excursions to Ottawa and Montreal.”
