Curriculum Vitae

For a detailed CV in PDF format, please click here.​

My main research interests involve the ways that people come to hold values and beliefs in hyper-mediated, (post)modern consumer cultures. I seek out research opportunities where music, marketing and religiosity intersect and overlap. I am particularly interested in the varieties of transcendent experiences that can occur in any number of non-, quasi- or religious settings, their manifestations and the associations that both inform and engender them. My current research explores the role of musical branding in the growth of trans-national evangelical megachurches around the world.

Research

Publications

Teaching 

Conference Presentations

Main Teaching Areas

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• Ethnomusicology
• Music Sociology/Anthropology
• Popular Music Studies
• Music of the Balkans/Eastern Europe
• Music Performance (Percussion)

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Current Modules Taught/Organized


• Ways of Listening
• Practical Music Workshops

• Listening and Musicianship 1 

• Listening and Musicianship 2

• Music 1B - Instruments, Technology and Culture
• Edinburgh Balkan Music Project

​Refereed Articles in Academic Journals​​

 

Wagner, Tom (2014). ‘No Other Name? Authenticity, Authority and Anointing in Christian Popular Music’. Journal of World Popular Music 1(2).

 

Riches, Tanya and Wagner, Tom (2012). ‘The Evolution of Hillsong Music: From Australian Pentecostal Congregation Into Global Brand’. Australian Journal of Communication 39(1), pgs. 17-36.

 

​Refereed Articles Online

 

Wagner, Tom (2015). 'Music, Media, Evangelical Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction. Focall Blog - Focaal: Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology April 2

 

Chapters in Edited Volumes

Wagner, Tom (2014). ‘Branding, Music, and Religion: Standardization and  Adaptation in the Experience of the “Hillsong Sound”’. In Religion as Brands: New  Perspectives on the Marketization of Religion and Spirituality. Edited by Jean- Claude Usunier and Jörg Stolz. London: Ashgate. pgs. 59-73.

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Wagner, Tom (2014). 'Music, Branding, and the Hegemonic Prosumption of Values of an Evangelical Growth Church'. In Religion and the Social Order vol. 24: Religion in Times of Crisis. Edited by Gladys Ganiel, Christophe Monnot and Heidemarie Winkel. Leiden: Brill Publishing. pgs. 11-32.

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Books Edited

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Anna Nekola and Tom Wagner, eds. (2015). Congregational Music Making and Community in a Mediated Age. London: Ashgate.

 

Monique Ingalls, Carolyn Landau and Tom Wagner, Eds. (2013). Christian Congregational Music: Performance, Identity, Experience. London: Ashgate. 

 

Reviews

 

Wagner, Tom (2014). ‘Magazine Review: Songlines Magazine’. Journal of World Popular Music 1(2).

 

Wagner, Tom (2011). ‘Website Review: Born to Groove’. Yearbook for Traditional Music 42.

 

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2015

• ‘† = ♥: Fans and Evangelists in Convergence Culture’ University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

 

• ‘Media Ecology: A Theoretical and Methodological Approach to Studying Congregational Music’ Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford, UK

 

2014

• ‘The Value of Values: Using Church Branding as a Theoretical Construct’ BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group Annual Conference University of Sussex, Sussex, UK

 

• ‘What is the Value of Values? Music and Prosumption in a Growth Church Context’ International Society for Media, Religion and Culture Bi-Annual Meeting University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

 

• Welcome to Church™: The Evolving Use of Music, Media and Marketing in the United States and beyond. Music and Capitalism in Historical and Cross-cultural Perspective Institute for Musical Research, London, UK

 

2013   

• ‘† = ♥: Music, Marketing, Meaning, and the Branding of Easter’ Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

 

• ‘I “Like” Hillsong: Branding, Value and the Facebook Model of Worship Music’ Ethnomusicology in the Digital Age: British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference Queen’s University, Belfast, UK

 

• ‘Music, Marketing, and the New Paradigm Denomination: Branding as Liturgical Text’ Digital Media and Sacred Text Open University (Camden Campus), London, UK

 

2012   

• ‘Culture Jamming: The Perils of Musical Branding in an Age of Social Media’ Imagining Communities Musically: Putting Popular Music in its Place. Biannual Conference of The International Association for the Study of Popular Music, UK and Ireland Branch University of Salford, MediaCityUK, Manchester, UK

 

• ‘Culture Jamming: The Perils of Musical Branding in an Age of Social Media’ Music Religion Culture International Conference Anadolu Universitesi, Eskisehir, Turkey

 

• ‘“Massive Music in the Idol Theatre”’: Paradox, Utopia, Transformation and the Transcendent Efficacy of Brand Promise’ Performance Interaction: British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference University of Durham, Durham, UK

 

2011

• ‘Hearing the “Hillsong Sound”: City, Scene and Branding in the Religious Experience Economy’ Religions and Brands: The Marketization of Spirituality University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

 

• ‘Corporate Worship: Consumer Culture and Musical Identity Management in an Evangelical Network Church’ Taking Part: The European Society for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK

 

• ‘Corporate’ Worship: Consumer Culture and Musical Identity Management in an Evangelical Network Church’ Social Relations in Turbulent Times: The 10th Conference of the European Sociological Association Université de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland

 

• ‘London Calling: Music and Meaning at Hillsong London’ Christian Congregational Music: Local and Global Perspectives Ripon College, Oxford, UK

 

• ‘London Calling: Music and Meaning at Hillsong London' International Council for Traditional Music World Conference Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland

 

• ‘Music, Image, Text: Using Rock to Construct the “Generic” Pentecostal at Hillsong London’ Mediation, Writing and Performance: The British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference University of Falmouth, Falmouth, UK

 

• ‘A Beautiful Exchange: Music, Image, Authenticity and the Brand Experience’ The Royal Music Association Graduate Conference University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

 

2010   

• ‘The Fieldwork That Never Was: Cognitive Dissonance and Therapy at Hillsong London’ The British Forum for Ethnomusicology One-Day Conference The Institute for Music Research, London, UK

 

• ‘The Suspension of (Dis)belief: Confession and Knowledge Production in the Study of Religious Music in London’ The British Forum for Ethnomusicology Graduate Conference The Institute for Music Research, London, UK

 

2009   

• ‘Human Agency and the Consumable Experience’ Music, Culture and Globalisation: The British Forum for Ethnomusicology Annual Conference John Moores University, Liverpool, UK