About Professor Daniel Kodzo
Professor Daniel Kodzo Avorgbedor is a renowned scholar and educator whose work spans several subjects, including visual music, urban soundscapes, and the globalization of performance culture in Ghana.
His work has led him to collect and archive various musical performances and cultural practices that have music as an element of the rite. His work looks at the interplay of music, visual arts, and urban social dynamics in the culture of a people and how it plays out in their day-to-day life from the Ghanaian perspective. Professor Avorgbedor further projects these Ghanaian cultures through his articles, talks, and lectures to a global space. Professor Avorgbedor began his tertiary education at the University of Ghana, where he studied GEN. DIP MUS (1975) followed by a Master’s in 1978 at Truman State University, Kirksville, MO, USA, where he studied M.MUS. He obtained a PhD in 1986 in Ethnomusicology at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA. He became a Lecturer at the Department of Music, University of Ghana, Legon (1986-1989), and held jobs as Visiting Lecturer, Adjunct Assistant Professor, and Associate Professor in the USA.
He was the former President of the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Ethnomusicology (USA), who, during his tenure, helped establish the ethnomusicology program and African Diaspora tracks at The Ohio State University, Columbus (USA). Professor Avorgbedor is now an adjunct post-retirement Associate Professor on a teaching and research contract in the School of Performing Arts and the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. Major research and teaching areas include performance theories, African Diaspora studies, contemporary Black art music, and questions of cultural autonomy and political identity, emerging sensibilities and music as cultural signifier in contemporary Ghanaian visual arts, and urban ethnomusicology with primary research focus on rural-urban dynamics in reconstructing Ewe sociocultural and musical identities.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get Access to the actual items?
To get access to the actual items please fill in the form found on the Request Access Page of the page header. The request will be recevied by the curator and processed with a response via email provided.
What is the collection about?
The collection is a documentation of Professor Avorgbedor’s works that highlight themes such as Anyako (a place in the Volta Region of Ghana), Professor Nkatia, Music and Ghana, African and Black history.