Tanya Merchant is an ethnomusicologist whose research interests include music’s intersection with issues of nationalism, gender, identity, and the post-colonial situation. With a geographical focus on Central Asia, the former Soviet Union, and the Balkans, she has conducted fieldwork in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Russia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is an avid performer on the Central Asian dutar and the baroque bassoon, and has given concerts in the U.S., England, and Uzbekistan. Tanya received her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology with a concentration in women’s studies from UCLA. Recent publications include her book, Women Musicians of Uzbekistan: From Courtyard to Conservatory, published by the University of Illinois Press, and articles on Uzbek popular, folk, and traditional musics that appear in journals such as Image and Narrative, Cahiers de Musiques Traditionnelles, and Popular Music in Society.

ARI Supported Project: Contra dance is a social dance form with roots in British colonial dances in North America in the 18th century that have undergone significant changes in choreography, musical accompaniment, social function, and performance practice. "Inclusivity and Cultural Sustainability in Contra Dance Communities" documents recent changes that seek to further contra dance communities' goals of being welcoming to everyone. Contra dance's current adaptations are contextualized within larger inclusivity and accessibility projects to better understand how social dance and social change relate.

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