Professor Dr. Bonnie Mcconnell

Biography

Bonnie McConnell is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Music at the Australian National University. Her research primarily examines the intersections of music, health, identity, and social change with a focus on Africa, particularly The Gambia, Tanzania, and South Africa, as well as Australia. She holds an MA and PhD in ethnomusicology and a graduate certificate in public health from the University of Washington. McConnell is the author of the monograph "Music, Health, Power: Singing Unsayable Gambia" (2019, Routledge), which received an Honorable Mention from the Society for Ethnomusicology’s Kwabena Nketia Prize. Her work has been supported by various grants, including the Fulbright-Hays Program and the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council. McConnell's research appears in multiple academic journals, and she was awarded the Rebecca Coyle Prize for her work on popular music. As a co-founder of the Musical Care International Network, she facilitates interdisciplinary knowledge exchange in the field of musical care. At ANU, she teaches courses on contemporary approaches to ethnomusicology and music research methods.

Research Interests

Experience