Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier

After completing her doctoral studies in visual anthropology at the Granada Centre of the University of Manchester, Alexandrine Boudreault-Fournier undertook two post-doctoral studies at the Université de Montréal and then Université Laval. In addition to examining questions of musical production, she extended her field of study to include the reception of music among young people in Cuba—an equally novel theme that remains unexplored from an ethnographic standpoint. Over the course of her doctoral research in anthropology, Alexandrine had the opportunity to live in Santiago de Cuba for two years. During this period, she became immersed in the “made in Cuba” hip hop movement. Her objective was to explore the structures of the various production networks for so-called urban music created by young people. In the socialist context of Cuba, it is unavoidable to examine the ubiquitous cultural policies that radically influence relationships between young people in the artistic milieu and various state institutions. Alexandrine has likewise taken great interest in the dynamic between these policies and the forms of musical expression of young people; these have been the subject of her study over the past few years.