Qifang Hu

she/her

a headshot of Qifang Hu

Teaching Assistant in Musicology & Ethnomusicology

ABOUT

Qifang Hu is a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research engages both East Asian, in particular, Chinese, Ryukuan, Japanese, and Korean music and Asian American music studies through multidisciplinary approaches, with particular interests in popular music, global hip-hop, and world music ensemble pedagogy.

Her current dissertation project, From Shima-uta to Hip-Hop: Memory, Resistance, and Neocolonialism in Okinawan Popular Music, investigates postwar Okinawa’s vibrant musical landscapes, from jazz and rock to pop and contemporary hip-hop through the lenses of war memory, cultural trauma, and decolonial resistance. Her fieldwork-based research explores how Okinawan musicians use music to navigate identity, reclaim space, and challenge structures of neocolonial power.

Qifang has presented her work at major academic conferences including the Association for Asian Studies, the International Council for Traditional Music and Dance, the Society for Ethnomusicology, and the American Musicological Society.

In addition to her academic work, she is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, performing Chinese pipa, Okinawan sanshin (Nomura-ryū), Javanese gamelan, Korean percussion, and Japanese biwa (Tsuruta-ryū). Her commitment to performance practice informs both her research and teaching.

COURSES

MUS 307 / AFR 315U 
Music of African Americans

Qifang Hu is a Ph.D. candidate in ethnomusicology at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research engages both East Asian, in particular, Chinese, Ryukuan, Japanese, and Korean music and Asian American music studies through multidisciplinary approaches, with particular interests in popular music, global hip-hop, and world music ensemble pedagogy.

Her current dissertation project, From Shima-uta to Hip-Hop: Memory, Resistance, and Neocolonialism in Okinawan Popular Music, investigates postwar Okinawa’s vibrant musical landscapes, from jazz and rock to pop and contemporary hip-hop through the lenses of war memory, cultural trauma, and decolonial resistance. Her fieldwork-based research explores how Okinawan musicians use music to navigate identity, reclaim space, and challenge structures of neocolonial power.

Qifang has presented her work at major academic conferences including the Association for Asian Studies, the International Council for Traditional Music and Dance, the Society for Ethnomusicology, and the American Musicological Society.

In addition to her academic work, she is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, performing Chinese pipa, Okinawan sanshin (Nomura-ryū), Javanese gamelan, Korean percussion, and Japanese biwa (Tsuruta-ryū). Her commitment to performance practice informs both her research and teaching.

MUS 307 / AFR 315U 
Music of African Americans

Contact Information

Campus location
MRH 3.402

Teaching Areas

Musicology & Ethnomusicology