Background
Phoebe E. Hughes is a lecturer in musicology in the Binghamton University Music Department. Her research focuses on the intersections of race, class, gender and sexuality in 20th and 21st century U.S. popular music. Hughes has ongoing research projects on country crossover artists from the 1960s to the present with specific interest in negotiations of age, race, feminist presentations, current politics and genre movement in the contemporary popular music industry.
Under contract with Backbeat Books, Hughes is currently writing a monograph on Taylor Swift. An in-depth look at 11 Taylor Swift songs, each chapter investigates a different aspect of Swift’s career, from her teenage country stardom, recent pop explorations, Swift’s role in the business of popular music, the scope of songwriting craft displayed in Swift’s discography and how we take female artists (and pop music) seriously.
Hughes holds a PhD in musicology from Ohio State University (2022), and an interdisciplinary specialization certificate in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. At Binghamton University, Hughes teaches courses on Western Classical music, U.S. popular music, Taylor Swift and music research methods. Hughes has prior teaching experience at Ohio State University and West Virginia University.
Education
- PhD in historical musicology, The Ohio State University
- MA in musicology, West Virginia University
- BA in music and history, Northern Arizona University
Research Interests
- Intersections of race, class, gender and sexuality in 20th and 21st century music
- Popular music in the U.S.
- Country music
- Contemporary music and politics
