Collegiate Affiliation

Mark Pedelty is a Professor of Communication Studies, Affiliate Professor of Anthropology, and Fellow at the Institute on the Environment. His research deals with music and sound as environmental communication. Dr. Pedelty has published a number of books and journal articles. He also produces, directs, and composes soundtracks for environmental film project collaborations with community partners. Visit Ecosong.Net to see his most recent media projects, including an award-winning documentary short, Sentinels of Silence? Whale Watching, Noise, and the Orca.

Dr. Pedelty published "A Song to Save the Salish Sea: Musical Performance as Environmental Activism" (Indiana University Press, 2016), a book about environmentalist musicians and movements in Washington State and British Columbia. In 2012, Dr. Pedelty published “Ecomusicology: Rock, Folk, and the Environment” (Temple University's Music Matters Series, 2012), and his fieldwork in Mexico and Central America resulted in two earlier books (Routledge, 1995, and University of Texas Press, 2004). Pedelty has published numerous articles about music, media, and environment.

Pedelty teaches environmental communication, audio production, musical communication, ethnographic methods, media studies, and global seminars in the UK and Latin America. Dr. Pedelty's community engagement, research, and teaching are dedicated to the University of Minnesota's land grant mission to sustainably steward our public lands, waters, and resources.

Educational Background & Specialties
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Educational Background

  • Ph.D.: Anthropology, University of California, 1993

Specialties

  • Music as Environmental Communication
  • Ethnographic research in the USA, El Salvador, and Mexico
  • Sound and Environment