Meet the Mellon Fellows: Dr. Rami Toubia Stucky

Dr. Rami Toubia Stucky

University of Virginia
PhD, Music

Host Site: NPS National Capital Region Cultural Anthropology Program
Fellowship Title: Documenting Punk and Go-Go in the Nation’s Capital Fellowship
Project Description: Dr. Stucky will explore the role that National Parks in the Washington, D.C. region have played in fostering the city’s music and arts scenes over the past fifty years.

Bio:

Rami Toubia Stucky is a Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow with the National Park Service, where he is working on a project titled “Documenting Punk and Go-Go in the Nation's Capital.” Trained as a music historian, Rami specializes in jazz and American popular music and is completing a book about the arrival of Brazilian bossa nova to the United States in the 1960s. He has published articles in a variety of academic and public-facing journals, newspapers, magazines, and blogs, taught courses on lofi hip hop, and given conference presentations in Portuguese. In 2021-2022, Rami was an intern with the State Department’s Bureau for Educational and Cultural Affairs where he worked on a podcast about Josephine Baker and American culture in France. He is interested in public service, international affairs, digital humanities, and cartography, and is excited to develop these skills as a fellow. Rami also plays the drums. Sometimes he even gets paid to do it. And sometimes people even listen: his drumming on Monitor’s “Memorand” has received more than 1.9 million plays on Spotify. You can find out more about his music, research, and creative projects by visiting his personal and professional website, songsmysisterlikes.com.

Tell us about your research interests!

I am interested in imagining what an equitable city sounds like. How do people conceive of the city in which they live and how do these conceptions of the city's sound differ according to race, gender, or class? Washington, D.C., like many cities around the country, is changing. Whether due to immigration or rising home prices and rent, longtime residents are moving out and new residents are moving in. The city's soundscape is altered as a result and my research currently focuses on the debates over the feel, look, price, and experience of city life that ensue.

How does your research connect to the mission of the National Park Service, which serves both parks and communities?

One of the original conceptions I had about National Parks were that these are places of refuge from the clamor of city life––think of quiet contemplative hikes at Rocky Mountain or Great Smoky Mountains National Parks where one can just bask in the sounds of nature. But what I find exciting about the project I am doing with the NPS is that we are conceiving of public space as a place to enjoy the sounds of all types of life––not just plant and animal but human as well. In an era dominated by wealth inequality, unaffordable housing, privatization, the erosion of accessible "third spaces," and the decline of the public sphere, I believe the National Parks can play an increasingly important role in our well-being by creating an equitable soundscape that is enjoyable for all.

What are you most excited about as you begin your fellowship?

One of the things I am getting interested in is map making. Some recent maps I've made while a Fellow have documented demographic changes in the census tracts surrounding Meridian Hill Park, the location of noise-related arrests in Washington, D.C., and the location of gunshot sounds according to ShotSpotter technology. Some of these projects are more related to the National Parks than others, but I am grateful to my mentors who are patient with me as I develop these skills and express interest in wherever my intellectual work takes me.

Do you have a favorite story about your personal experience with the NPS, or a park or program you admire?

I have visited several programmed events within the capital-area NPS such as the Rock Creek Park ranger guided tours and Fort Dupont Park concert series. All of them are awesome. But my mentor recently encouraged me to go to Meridian Hill Park to check out the drum circle that has been in operation there since at least the 1970s. What I like most about the drum circle at Meridian Hill Park is that, although the organizers have a permit, it (at least of late) operates entirely on its own without much interference or interjection by the NPS. That the NPS can provide both curated events like the guided tours and concert series and a blank canvas that residents can use as they please shows the multiple possibilities that public parks afford.

This project was made possible through the National Park Service by a grant from the National Park Foundation through generous support from the Mellon Foundation.
Find out more about the Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.