Izza Ahsan

Izza Ahsan is an artist and a first-year ethnomusicology student focusing on the institutionalisation of musical forms in South Asia through an anti-caste lens. She aims to strengthen the anti-caste framework through which South Asian music should be approached. Prior to Yale, she received an M.A in Media and Cultural Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Her masters thesis titled ‘What is a Female Voice? The Caste-ing of The Female Pitch: Caste and Gender Through Malayalam Film Music’ looks at the construction of the social meaning of female vocality in Indian Film Music within the framework of Brahmanical Patriarchy. She attempts to problematise the current discourse on female vocality that does not place caste-gender relations at the center of their work. Outside of her research, she also enjoys creating music and performing with her band.