Alexandra Lippman

Alexandra Lippman is a cultural anthropologist and sound ethnographer. She conducts research in Latin America, primarily Brazil, and her research interests include the politics of sound, media technology and intellectual property. 

Her primary research explores how music and sound become political projects as alternative intellectual property, performance and technology are contested. Her manuscript, Opening Culture: Intellectual Property, Piracy and Pacification in Brazil, is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil since 2008.

She also experiments with modes of ethnographic attention and creative scholarly transmissions. She founded the Sound Ethnography Project, co-runs a record label, Discos Rolas, and hosts “Sound Study,” a radio show on Dublab. Her creative work has been covered by The New York Times, L.A. Weekly and The FADER, among others.

Gaming the Metrics: Misconduct and Manipulation in Academic Research. Mario Biagioli and Alexandra Lippman, eds. Cambridge: MIT Press. 2020.

“Listening.” In Transmissions: Critical Tactics for Making & Communicating Research. Kat Jungnickel, ed. MIT Press. 2020.

“Humor, Hoaxes, and Software. In Gaming The Metrics: Misconduct and Manipulation in Academic Research. Mario Biagioli and Alexandra Lippman, Editors. MIT Press, pp. 271-281.

“Law for Whom?”: Responding to Musical and Sonic Illegality in Brazil. Sound Studies. 2018.

“Listening Across Borders: Migration, Memory and the Sonidero Voice.” Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society. 2018.

“In a race for mentions, it’s open season on researchers: The growing clamour for open access results makes scientists vulnerable, say Alexandra Lippman and Christopher Kelty.” Nature Index.

"Cash" In Paid: Tales of Dongles, Checks, and Other Money Stuff. Bill Maurer and Lana Swartz, eds. Cambridge: MIT Press. 2017.

“Notes from Art of the Archive: Rethinking Archival Practices in a Digital Era.” With Alessandro Delfanti and Allison Fish. Platypus. June 2015. 

“Cannibalizing Copyright? Vernacularizing Open Intellectual Property in Brazil.” Anthropology Today. 2014.

“From Funkification to Pacification: The Emerging Socio-Sonic Landscape of Funk Carioca.” With Gregory Scruggs. Norient: 2012.

Documentaries

Dinastia Pedraza. 7 minutes. Mexico City. Director and Producer. Documentary on the Pedraza family’s multi-generational legacy as pioneers and innovators in Mexican cumbia.

City of Funk. 5 minutes. Rio de Janeiro. Director. Immersive documentary on the politics of performance of funk carioca. 360°. RYOT.

Resistance in Little Africa. 4 minutes. Rio de Janeiro. Director and Producer with Boima Tucker. Immersive documentary on the clash between urban redevelopment and Afro-Brazilian heritage. 360°. RYOT.

A City Divided. 4 minutes. Rio de Janeiro. Director and Producer with Boima Tucker. Immersive documentary on infrastructure and inequality. 360°. RYOT.