Mellonee Burnim Explained

Mellonee Burnim
Birth Name:	Mellonee Victoria Burnim
Discipline:	Ethnomusicology
Sub Discipline:	African American music
Education:	North Texas State University University of Wisconsin-Madison Indiana University Bloomington
Workplaces:	Indiana University

Mellonee Victoria Burnim (born 1950) is an American ethnomusicologist. A professor emerita at Indiana University Bloomington who specializes in African American gospel music, she previously served as director of the university's Archives of African American Music and Culture.

Early life and education

Burnim grew up in rural Teague, Texas in the 1950s and 1960s.^{[1] [2]} She attended all-Black schools and churches, where she sang gospel music. By the age of 12, Burnim was the pianist for three different church choirs in her community.

Burnim attended North Texas State University, majoring in music education with a concentration in piano. During her studies, she continued to play piano for a Black Baptist church choir on Sundays. Burnim went on to complete a master's degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a thesis on songs in Mende folktales.

Burnim was recruited to Indiana University Bloomington to complete her PhD and to found the university's African Choral Ensemble in 1976.^[3] She earned her doctorate in ethnomusicology in 1980, with a dissertation titled The Black Gospel Music Tradition: Symbol of Ethnicity.^[4]

Career

Following her graduation, Burnim continued at Indiana University, joining the faculty of the Department of Afro-American Studies (now the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies). She went on to chair the department. She transferred to the Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology in 1999. She served as director of the Archives of African American Music and Culture from 2014 to 2016. As of 2017, Burnim holds professor emerita status.

Burnim is recognized as a pioneer and expert in the study of African American gospel music.^{[5] [6]} She was a "prolific"^[7] researcher who published and lectured widely on the history and practice of Black religious music.^{[8] [9]}

Burnim co-edited two textbooks with her Indiana University colleague Portia K. Maultsby: African American Music: An Introduction (2006)^[10] and Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation (2016).^[11] A collection of Burnim's papers and audiovisual materials can be found in the Indiana University archives.^[12]

Selected works

Books

• African American Music: An Introduction (co-edited with Portia K. Maultsby), 2006;
• Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation (co-edited with Portia K. Maultsby), 2016;

Journal articles

• Burnim. Mellonee. 1980. Gospel music research. Black Music Research Journal. 1. 63–70. 10.2307/779294. 779294.
• Burnim. Mellonee. 1983. Gospel music: Review of the literature. Music Educators Journal. en. 69. 9. 58–61. 10.2307/3396274. 3396274. 194025688. 0027-4321.
• Burnim. Mellonee. 1985. Culture bearer and tradition bearer: An ethnomusicologist's research on gospel music. Ethnomusicology. 29. 3. 432–447. 10.2307/851798. 851798.

Book chapters

• Book: Burnim. Mellonee V.. Expressively Black: The Cultural Basis of Ethnic Identity. Maultsby. Portia K.. 1987. Praeger. 0-275-92465-3. Gay. Geneva. 109–136. From backwoods to city streets: The Afro-American musical journey. 925039627. Baber. Willie L..
• Book: Burnim, Mellonee . 2013 . 9780199859993 . Dueck . Jonathan . Reily . Suzel Ana . The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities . Tropes of continuity and disjuncture in the globalization of gospel music . 469–486 . 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199859993.013.16.

Notes and References

1. Campbell. Patricia Shehan. 1995. Mellonee Burnim on African American Music. Music Educators Journal. en. 82. 1. 41–48. 10.2307/3398885. 3398885. 143193014. 0027-4321.
2. News: 1963-05-01. Teague girl wins declamation event. 2. The Mexia Daily News. 2020-06-10.
3. Web site: Maultsby. Portia. Orejuela. Fernando. Stone. Ruth. Mellonee V. Burnim. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200605045524/https://folklore.indiana.edu/about/emeriti-faculty/burnim-mellonee.html. 2020-06-05. 2020-06-11. Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology. en.
4. 1981-09-01. Recent Dissertations. Journal of American History. en. 68. 2. 501–509. 10.1093/jahist/68.2.501. 0021-8723.
5. Book: Rabaka, Reiland. Civil Rights Music: The Soundtracks of the Civil Rights Movement. Lexington Books. 2016. 978-1-4985-3178-8. Lanham. 87. 944086828.
6. Book: Hinson, Glenn. Fire in My Bones Transcendence and the Holy Spirit in African American Gospel. University of Pennsylvania Press. 2010. 978-0-8122-0301-1. 341. 956784829.
7. Book: Burford, Mark. Mahalia Jackson and the black gospel field. Oxford University Press. 2019. 978-0-19-063490-2. New York, NY. 15. 1022984433.
8. Web site: Dekoster. Luke. 1997-02-17. A glimpse at the world of gospel. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200618021122/https://www.iowastatedaily.com/a-glimpse-at-the-world-of-gospel/article_ec3ccf51-1931-5e6f-ae74-d0bcfbeadb06.html. 2020-06-18. 2020-06-17. Iowa State Daily. en.
9. News: 1991-11-07. Hear and learn about spirituals. 74. Detroit Free Press. 2020-06-18.
10. News: Kauffman. Nicole. 2006-03-26. Tuning the page. 13. The Reporter-Times. 2020-06-06.
11. Book: Maultsby. Portia K. Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation. Burnim. Mellonee V. 2017. Taylor & Francis . 978-1-315-47208-9. en. 950084407.
12. Web site: Mellonee V. Burnim Collection, 1861-1996, bulk 1976-1996. 2020-06-11. webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu.