Oral Histories

Interview of Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje

UCLA professor of ethnomusicology. Director of UCLA’s Ethnomusicology Archive.
Topic:
UCLA and University of California History
African American History
Music
UCLA Faculty
Biographical Note:
UCLA professor of ethnomusicology. Director of UCLA’s Ethnomusicology Archive.
Interviewer:
Armstrong, Donna
Interviewee:
DjeDje, Jacqueline Cogdell
Place Conducted:
Schoenberg Music Building, UCLA.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Donna Armstrong, assistant to the chair and website manager for the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, Department of Ethnomusicology. Armstrong first met DjeDje when Armstrong worked as a staff member in the UCLA Center for Afro-American Studies from 1987-1992. She assisted DjeDje in organizing ethnomusicology department events before DjeDje was chair of the department and then worked directly with DjeDje while she was chair from 2005 to 2010. The two also worked closely to collect and organize information on the department's website about the 50-year history of the study of ethnomusicology at UCLA. As website manager, Armstrong regularly interviews members of the department on the occasion of their retirement to create articles that are then posted on the website. For this interview, Armstrong wrote twenty-eight questions about various aspects of DjeDje’s life and sent them via email to DjeDje. DjeDje agreed to answer all of the questions and requested that the interview be video and audio recorded. David Martinelli, recording technician for the department, set up the equipment for the interview, which took five hours, broken into three segments. There were two short breaks between the segments.
Processing of Interview:
With the assistance of two work-study students, Armstrong transcribed the interview. Armstrong also provided the table of contents. DjeDje was given a copy of the transcription, along with a CD of the sound file, to review in order to verify the accuracy of the contents and to correct any misspelled words. In her review, DjeDje added some explanations in brackets within the text. She also provided the curriculum vitae.
Length:
5 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.