{"id":66,"date":"2021-12-30T14:57:14","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T22:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/?page_id=66"},"modified":"2026-03-14T10:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T17:41:15","slug":"presentations","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/presentations\/","title":{"rendered":"Presentations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sean Williams presents talks for public and private organizations on music, Celtic Studies, Asian Studies, liminality, religion, food, and other topics. The list below includes some of the presentations she has made.<\/p>\n

2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • “Being Muslim, Singing Hindu in West Java,” Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR, March 6<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • “Liminality and the Celtic Calendar,” online presentations for Winter F\u00e8is 2025 through Slighe nan G\u00e0idheal, Seattle\u2019s Scottish Society, April 26.<\/li>\n
    • “The Music of Eric Whitacre,” Choral Performance at Lincoln Center, New York City, with composer\/conductor Eric Whitacre, April 14.<\/li>\n
    • “Songs and Alcohol in Ireland,” University of Notre Dame, February 5 and again, September 15.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      2024<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      • \u201cPoetry as a Toolbox and Pathway to Clarity,\u201d British Forum for Ethnomusicology roundtable, November 29.<\/li>\n
      • “Irish Traditional Music as a Political Tool in North America,” Society for Ethnomusicology, October 25.<\/li>\n
      • \u201cWorkshop: Writing Ethnomusicology,\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, online conference, October 25.<\/li>\n
      • “The Liminal Position of the Immigrant,” University of British Columbia, October 18.<\/li>\n
      • Faculty speaker at the Evergreen State College’s graduation ceremony, June 14.<\/li>\n
      • “Joe Heaney: Representing Gaelic Ireland in the United States,” at the F\u00e9ile Joe \u00c9inni\u00fa 40th anniversary of Heaney’s death; Carna, Connemara, May 3.<\/li>\n
      • “Song, Food, and Longing in Irish America,” at the Irish Ambassador’s residence [Zogby Lecture Series], Washington DC, February 8.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        • “The Presence of Absence: Song, Food, and Longing in Irish America,” European Diaspora session at the American Folklore Society annual conference, Portland, OR, November 4.<\/li>\n
        • \n

          \u201cAwakening Mom: Using Family Songs to Trigger Episodic Memories,\u201d roundtable at the Society for Ethnomusicology annual conference, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, October 19.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • “The Presence of Absence: Songs, Food, and Longing,” session at an interdisciplinary symposium\u2014Tasting Culture, Davis, CA, October 12.<\/li>\n
        • \n

          \u201cSongs and Nostalgia in Irish America,\u201d guest lecture for a course titled \u201cIrish Music: Transmission, Identity, Nation\u201d at Kunst-Universit\u00e4t Graz, Austria, April 20.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \n

          \u201cThe Presence of Absence,\u201d guest lecture for a course titled \u201cOnline Research Music Seminar\u201d at Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, February 21.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

        • \u201cWomen, Water, and Transformation in Song and Folklore,\u201d online presentations for Winter F\u00e8is 2023 through Slighe nan G\u00e0idheal, Seattle\u2019s Scottish Society, January 28.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          2022<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          • \n

            “Appropriation of Irish Cultural Arts & Symbols by White Nationalist Groups,” keynote speech for the Celtic Junction Social Justice Seminars, online meeting via Normandale Community College, MN, April 28.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          • “Sean-n\u00f3s Dance as Embodied Resistance,” International Council for Traditional Music, Lisbon, Portugal, July 26.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

              \n
            • \u201cIrish Forms of American Whiteness,\u201d American Conference for Irish Studies, online conference, June 4.<\/li>\n
            • \u201cIslam and Music,\u201d \u201cJudaism and Music,\u201d and \u201cBuddhism and Music,\u201d for the Frank Tobey Jones Senior Center, Tacoma, WA, June 10, 16, and 30.<\/li>\n
            • \u201cNo, I Won\u2019t Save You: The Problem of the Lonely Only [Ethnomusicologist],\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, online conference, October 28.<\/li>\n
            • \u201cImagining the Interdisciplinary Global Music Ensemble,\u201d The Global Music Ensemble: Shifting Models panel discussion, Carleton College (Canada), online conference, December 2.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              2020<\/strong><\/p>\n

                \n
              • \u201cThe Magical Whiteness of Being: Irish Language and Song in American White Nationalism,\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, online conference (because of COVID), October 28.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

                  \n
                • \u201cBetween the Songs and the Airs: Intersections of Vocal and Instrumental Performance in Irish Traditional Music,\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Albuquerque, NM, November 17.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

                    \n
                  • Keynote Speech on Joe Heaney at the National University of Ireland in Galway, November 22<\/li>\n
                  • \u201cBetween Hindu and Muslim in Sundanese Vocal Music,\u201d International Council for Traditional Music, Limerick, Ireland, July 19.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

                      \n
                    • \u201cNegotiating Religious Transformation through Sundanese Vocal Music,\u201d\u00a0Association for Asian Studies, Seattle, WA, April 1.<\/li>\n
                    • \u201cInterdisciplinarity in Indonesian Music Pedagogy,\u201d Southeast Asia Symposium, Tacoma, WA, October 29.<\/li>\n
                    • \u201cFrom Singing to Speaking: A Song-Based Irish Language Pedagogy,\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Washington, D.C., November 12.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                      2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • \u201cSean-n\u00f3s<\/em>\u00a0Dance in History and Memory\u201d at Memorial University,\u00a0St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland, May 24.<\/li>\n
                      • \u201cFirefly Sounds,\u201d performance\/spoken word piece at Lawrence\u00a0University, September 17.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

                          \n
                        • \u201cBraided Lives: Moving within the Soundscape,\u201d co-keynote speech with\u00a0Dr. Tomie Hahn at the Midwest Regional Conference of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Lawrence University, April 5.<\/li>\n
                        • \u201cApproaches to Sundanese Musical and Religious Identities,\u201d at a symposium titled \u201cPerforming Indonesia 2014: Dance, Music, and Theater of West Java Province.\u201d Washington, D.C., October 4. Sponsored by the Indonesian Embassy and the Smithsonian Museum.<\/li>\n
                        • \u201cManaging the Unspeakable Through Transgressive Ethnography.\u201d\u00a0Society for Ethnomusicology, Pittsburgh, PA, November 14.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                          2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

                            \n
                          • \u201cCrossing the Divide: Hinduism and Islam in Sundanese Music,\u201d Memorial University, St. John\u2019s, Newfoundland, March 19.<\/li>\n
                          • \u201cEmbodying the Liminal: The Visiting Artist as Fieldwork Site,\u201d University of Washington, Seattle, WA, February 9 [keynote speech].<\/li>\n
                          • \u201cDancing, Identity, and \u2018Immorality\u2019 in Sundanese Jaipongan,\u201d Willamette University, Salem, OR, November 2.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                            2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • Participation in a panel on graduate students and publication, Society for Ethnomusicology, New Orleans, LA, November 18.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                \n
                              • \u201cDancing with the Drum: Teaching and Learning in Sundanese Jaipongan,\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Philadelphia, PA, November 16-20.<\/li>\n
                              • \u201cUnderstanding Indonesia,\u201d Olympia World Affairs Council, Olympia, WA, May 14.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                2009<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                • Parenting and Ethnomusicology (roundtable speaker), Society for Ethnomusicology, Mexico City, Mexico, November 19.<\/li>\n
                                • \u201cMusic and Religion,\u201d South Puget Sound Community College, Olympia WA, September 25.<\/li>\n
                                • \u201cThe Musical Confluence between Hinduism and Islam in West Java, Indonesia,\u201d Boston University, Boston, MA, April 23.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                  2008<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                    \n
                                  • \u201cWorld Music in an Interdisciplinary Context.\u201d Cultural Diversity in Music Education conference, Seattle, WA, March 20-23.<\/li>\n
                                  • Sean-n\u00f3s Singing workshop; Friday Harbor Irish Music Camp, Friday Harbor, WA, March 3-9.<\/li>\n
                                  • Renaissance Singing workshop; Whatcom Hills Waldorf School, Bellingham, WA, February 2.<\/li>\n
                                  • Sean-n\u00f3s Singing workshop; 1st Annual Portland Sean-n\u00f3s Festival, Portland, OR, January 19.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                    2007<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                      \n
                                    • \u201cMusical Masculinity and the Life of Joe Heaney.\u201d Sean-n\u00f3s Milwaukee festival, Milwaukee, WI, February 17-18.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                      2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                        \n
                                      • \u201cMusic and Islam in Rural Washington State: Pedagogical Issues in a Time of War.\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Honolulu, HI, November 15-19.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                        2005<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                          \n
                                        • \u201cThe Language of Internal Exile: An Irish Musical Enclave Within Ireland.\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Atlanta, GA, November 16-20.<\/li>\n
                                        • \u201cIslam and Music of the Islamic World,\u201d Inquiring Mind series (sponsored by Humanities Washington), March 6 (Friday Harbor, WA), March 12 (Hoquiam, WA), April 12 (Walla Walla, WA).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                          2004<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                            \n
                                          • \u201cNegotiating Local Identity Through Song: A Case Study of Irish Attitudes Toward the Famine.\u201d Oral History Association, Portland, OR, September 30-October 4.<\/li>\n
                                          • \u201cIslam and Music of the Islamic World,\u201d Inquiring Mind series (sponsored by Humanities Washington), March 20 (Kingston, WA), July 15 (Kennewick, WA), October 14 (Gig Harbor, WA), November 10 (Olympia, WA).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                            2003<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                              \n
                                            • \u201cIt\u2019s Not Easy Being Green: Re?Learning Irish Music in Japan.\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Miami, FL, October 1-5.<\/li>\n
                                            • \u201cIslam and Music of the Islamic World,\u201d Inquiring Mind series (sponsored by Humanities Washington), January 30 (Manchester, WA), March 8 (Hoquiam, WA), March 18 (Chehalis, WA), April 9 (Olympia, Wa), April 12 (Olympia, WA).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                              2002<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                \n
                                              • \u201cIslam and Music of the Islamic World,\u201d Vancouver, WA. Inquiring Mind series (sponsored by Humanities Washington), November 15.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                1998<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                  \n
                                                • Discussant at panel: \u201cHe Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune: Musical Sponsorship in Transnational Contexts.\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Bloomington, IN, October 21-25.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                  1997<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                    \n
                                                  • \u201cTransformations of Male and Female Space in Homes, Stages, and Repertoires of the Sundanese in West Java, Indonesia.\u201d Society for Ethnomusicology, Toronto, Ontario, October 22-26.<\/li>\n
                                                  • \u201cGendered Space \u2014 Onstage and Offstage \u2014 in West Java.\u201d Annual Meeting of the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute, Tempe, AZ, June 13-15.<\/li>\n
                                                  • \u201cSundanese Performing Arts Competitions: Threats to Tradition or Inspiration for Innovation?\u201d Northwest Regional Meeting, Society for Ethnomusicology, Seattle, WA, February 22.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                    1995<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                      \n
                                                    • \u201cFemale Performers and the Politics of Sexuality in West Java, Indonesia.\u201d Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Los Angeles, CA, October 19-22.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                      1992<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                        \n
                                                      • \u201cRoots, Rap, Reggae: the Adoption and Adaptation of Foreign Music in Indonesia.\u201d Northwest Regional Meeting, Society for Ethnomusicology, Seattle, WA, February 20.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                        1991<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                          \n
                                                        • \u201cThe Creation and Maintenance of Sundanese Cultural Autonomy: the Case of Jaipongan.\u201d Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Chicago, IL, October 9-13.<\/li>\n
                                                        • \u201cThe Adoption and Adaptation of Foreign Music in Indonesia.\u201d Semi-Annual Meeting of the International Council for Traditional Music, Hong Kong, July 3-9.<\/li>\n
                                                        • \u201cKacapi-suling, Sundanese Music Which is Heard But Not Seen,\u201d Mid-Atlantic Regional Meeting, Society for Ethnomusicology, New York City, NY, April 19-21.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                          1990<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                            \n
                                                          • \u201cA Stalactite Gamelan in Pacitan, Central Java.\u201d Northwest Regional Meeting, Society for Ethnomusicology, Seattle, WA, March 30-April 1.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                            1989<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                              \n
                                                            • \u201cUrbanization in the World of Tembang Sunda,\u201d Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Boston, MA, November 9-12.<\/li>\n
                                                            • \u201cCurrent Developments in Sundanese Popular Music: the impact of \u2018Kalangkang\u2019,\u201d Annual Meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, Washington, D.C., March 17-19.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                              1985<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                                \n
                                                              • \u201cA Comparison of the Norwegian Langleik with the Appalachian Dulcimer,\u201d Northwest Regional Meeting, Society for Ethnomusicology, Seattle, WA, April 12-14.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                                1984<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                                  \n
                                                                • \u201cLanguage, Melody and Ornamentation in the Traditional Songs of Ireland,\u201d Annual Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology, Santa Monica, CA, October 25-29.<\/li>\n
                                                                • \u201cOrnamentation in the Traditional Irish Singing of Joe Heaney,\u201d Northwest Regional Meeting, Society for Ethnomusicology, Seattle, WA, April 6-8.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                                                  1983<\/strong><\/p>\n

                                                                    \n
                                                                  • \u201cAmerican Survivals of the African Banjo,\u201d Northwest Regional Meeting, Society for Ethnomusicology, Seattle, WA, April 8-10.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                                                                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                                                                    \n
                                                                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                                                    Sean Williams presents talks for public and private organizations on music, Celtic Studies, Asian Studies, liminality, religion, food, and other topics. The list below includes some of the presentations she has made. 2026 “Being Muslim, Singing Hindu in West Java,” Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR, March 6 2025 “Liminality and the Celtic Calendar,” online […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":271,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/66\/revisions\/271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/seanwilliams\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}