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Reflections and Research on Ragtime (Institute for Studies in American Music, 1987)This is a slim volume of 100 pages. Like my first book, it developed from academic concerns, but this time from an opposite vantage: I was now a teacher, not a student. Serving a one-semester position as Senior Research Fellow at the Institute (Brooklyn College, CUNY), I wondered how I could guide future scholars into fruitful areas of ragtime research. The resulting monograph has two sections: the first third discusses possible directions one might take in research, and the next two thirds illustrates one of those directions: examination of ragtime in particular regions of the country. Choosing my native city of New York, I explore the exuberant ragtime life of this key city. It was an enjoyable piece to write, and the subject is one I expect to revisit at some future time.
CONTENTS RAGTIME’S UNANSWERED QUESTIONS: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS The Beginnings Regional Studies Biography Analysis Performance Practice Ragtime and the Theater Control of Sources NEW YORK RAGTIME: A GUIDED TOUR 14th Street Chinatown Greenwich Village The Tenderloin The Jungles West 53rd Street The Lobster Palaces The Tour Concludes: Final Thoughts Reflections and Research may be ordered from the Institute for Studies in American Music. These are not the original printing, as pictured in the side panel, but larger sized, print-on-demand photocopies. Click to return to the reviews of Reflections and Research. 
A drawing from 1904 depicting an African-American cakewalking couple performing at a summertime rooftop theater.
------------- Copyright (c) 2002-2010 Edward A. Berlin |
