Highlights from the Ethnomusicology Archive: Mantle Hood collection

As probably everyone knows, Mantle Hood (1918-2005) was the Founder and DIrector of the UCLA Institute of Ethnomusicology.  Hood was on the UCLA Faculty from 1956 to 1975.  As Chris Waterman said to the LA Times in 2005, "Mantle Hood was among a select group of scholars in the 1950s to take seriously the study of what was then called non-Western music."

In 2011, Hood's sons, Marlowe, Maiyo, Mitro and Madé, donated many of Hood's early papers and correspondence to the Archive.  I thought I would share some of those with you today.  They paint a vivid portrait of the early years of the Institute.

As I hope everyone knows, Hood was responsible for building UCLA Ethnomusicology's instrument collection.  (And the following should give you a whole new appreciation of the effort it took to get Gamelan Khjai Mendung (The Venerable Dark Cloud) to UCLA!)

The collection also includes some photographs.

Mantle and Marlowe Hood, c 1958

In addition, there is correspondence between Hood and his many students.

Dissertation outline from William Malm

Study plan from Robert E. Brown

Hormoz Farhat details his studies to Hood

To see more of the collection, make an appointment and visit the Archive.

Photos © Mantle Hood, All Right Reserved. (For permission to use any Hood images, contact the Archivists.)

Photos © Regents of the University of California, All Right Reserved. (For permission to use any Hood images, contact the Archivists.)