Fulbright Scholar Recipient: Alex Perullo
Alex Perullo, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, African Studies, and Music, is currently a Fulbright–School of Oriental and African Studies Scholar Award. As a 2015-16 Fulbright Scholar, Perullo is working at the School of African and Oriental Studies at the University of London on a project analyzing the contemporary commercialization of African music. The global Fulbright Program is one of the most prestigious awards programs worldwide, operating in more than 150 countries, with more than 300,000 alumni.
Perullo has two published books, including Live from Dar es Salaam: Popular Music and Tanzania’s Music Economy, and many articles relating to African music economies and intellectual property rights. He is also working on a new manuscript titled "Globe Style: Copyright Law, Piracy, and the Commercialization of African Music." The project is being completed in conjunction with a five-year fellowship that Perullo received from the “Framing the Global" project. Framing the Global is a partnership between Indiana University's Center for the Study of Global Change and Indiana University Press, and is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Perullo is also working on a project on ageing in Africa. This project is part of a long-term initiative to examine elder populations in East Africa, particularly older artists. The African continent has historically been associated with high mortality rates and low life expectancies of 45 to 50 years of age. Recent scholarship, however, indicates that due to economic growth and specific improvements in health care, African populations are living longer and, in many cases, healthier lives than they did a generation ago. This project examines the issues and problems faced by elder artists in East Africa in the contemporary period.
In addition to his research, Perullo is active in the African community within Rhode Island. This has included starting the African Studies Workshop, a yearly workshop that brings together Africans in the area with Bryant University students and the broader public. In its eighth year, the Workshop has helped to create new relationship between various sectors of the Rhode Island community.
Perullo has created an online repository of interviews and documents of African immigrants living in New England. The project, titled the African Digital Archive, is meant to provide information and access to the immigrant community of Africans living in the area. It is also hoped that the content can be integrated into the Rhode Island school systems so that students can learn about those living in their communities.
Perullo has two published books, including Live from Dar es Salaam: Popular Music and Tanzania’s Music Economy, and many articles relating to African music economies and intellectual property rights. He is also working on a new manuscript titled "Globe Style: Copyright Law, Piracy, and the Commercialization of African Music." The project is being completed in conjunction with a five-year fellowship that Perullo received from the “Framing the Global" project. Framing the Global is a partnership between Indiana University's Center for the Study of Global Change and Indiana University Press, and is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Perullo is also working on a project on ageing in Africa. This project is part of a long-term initiative to examine elder populations in East Africa, particularly older artists. The African continent has historically been associated with high mortality rates and low life expectancies of 45 to 50 years of age. Recent scholarship, however, indicates that due to economic growth and specific improvements in health care, African populations are living longer and, in many cases, healthier lives than they did a generation ago. This project examines the issues and problems faced by elder artists in East Africa in the contemporary period.
In addition to his research, Perullo is active in the African community within Rhode Island. This has included starting the African Studies Workshop, a yearly workshop that brings together Africans in the area with Bryant University students and the broader public. In its eighth year, the Workshop has helped to create new relationship between various sectors of the Rhode Island community.
Perullo has created an online repository of interviews and documents of African immigrants living in New England. The project, titled the African Digital Archive, is meant to provide information and access to the immigrant community of Africans living in the area. It is also hoped that the content can be integrated into the Rhode Island school systems so that students can learn about those living in their communities.
EVIA Digital Archive project coming soon. For more information about Professor Perullo and his research, check out his website.