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Gabrielle Cornish

Gabrielle Cornish

Pronouns: she/her/hers
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Expert on music, sound, and politics; historian of the Soviet Union and the Cold War

Assistant Professor of Musicology; Faculty Associate, Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia College of Letters and Science School of Music — Home and cell phones available upon request gcornish@wisc.edu Home page

Topics

  • Sound studies: the way sound influences our daily lives, politics, technologies, and culture
  • Eastern European politics, culture, and society, with special attention to the history of the Soviet Union and Russia
  • Music and politics, including the ways music has been used for propaganda and by governments for ideological purposes
  • Music as a form of protest, as a weapon, or as state power
  • Music and technology, such as electronic music, streaming, sound recording, and media

Achievements

  • PhD in Historical Musicology (Eastman School of Music, 2020) and B.A. in Russian Studies and Music (University of Rochester, 2013)
  • American Council of Learned Societies Fellow (2025-2026)
  • Fulbright Scholar to Russia (2013-2014)
  • Bylines in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Slate
  • Media appearances on BBC World Television, BBC World Radio, NBC News, Wisconsin Public Radio, and more

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