Scholar Jessica Schwartz Specializes in the Realm of Punk Music
In the heart of academia, Jessica Schwartz, an assistant professor of musicology, is making waves with her unique approach to scholarship and activism. Her research focuses on the impact of nuclear tests on different communities in the Marshall Islands, particularly the people of Rongelap.
Schwartz co-founded the Marshallese Education Initiative in 2013, a nonprofit organisation aimed at increasing knowledge of the Marshallese people and creating educational and vocational opportunities for them. Her dedication to this cause is evident in her extensive research, which spans over two years and culminated in her dissertation, "Resonances of the Atomic Age: Hearing the Nuclear Legacy in the United States and the Marshall Islands, 1946-2010."
In her research, Schwartz explores how Marshallese communities engage with their nuclear legacy through song and silence. For the Rongelapese, the throat is the seat of the soul, comparable to the Western concept of the heart. Many Marshallese songs address the detonation of Castle Bravo and its aftermath, including exile from their homeland and medical tests by U.S. doctors.
The fallout from Castle Bravo, the most devastating test, sickened people living on neighbouring atolls and they were not evacuated until several days later. Many Rongelapese people developed thyroid gland disorders or cancer and required thyroid surgery as a result of radiation poisoning. Rongelap is uninhabitable to this day.
Schwartz's course, Music History 13, promotes a socially informed pedagogy, teaching about the historical and material conditions that punk comes from. As a longtime guitar player and member of various punk bands, Schwartz's personal passion for music is clearly reflected in her teaching.
However, it's important to note that while the Marshall Islands, specifically Bikini and Enewetak Atolls, were the sites of extensive U.S. nuclear testing between 1946 and 1958, causing lasting displacement, health crises, and cultural impacts to local populations, there is no direct link established between Schwartz's work and the history or effects of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands.
In her current band, Trap Girl, a queercore noisepunk band, Schwartz's music is inspired by nihilistic, artsy punk that is socially aware. The band's songs address contemporary social issues such as safe sex practices and violence against transgender people.
While the search results do not provide any information connecting Schwartz's work with the nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands or its influence on her music or activism, further specialized or biographical research on Schwartz would be needed to determine how nuclear testing has affected her music and activism.
References:
- Marshall Islands: The Nuclear Testing Legacy
- The Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands
- The Marshall Islands: A Nuclear Legacy
- The Marshall Islands: A Nuclear Testing Timeline
- Castle Bravo: The Most Powerful Nuclear Test Ever Conducted
Schwartz's work with the Marshallese Education Initiative demonstrates a commitment to both education-and-self-development and entertainment, as she aims to increase knowledge about the Marshallese people and provide educational and vocational opportunities for them. In her research, she also explores the use of music as a means of expression and engagement with the nuclear legacy in the Marshall Islands, particularly through Marshallese songs that address the detonation of Castle Bravo and its aftermath.
