Five questions with Ameera Nimjee, assistant professor of ethnomusicology 

Growing up in Toronto as a South Asian Ismaili Muslim, Ameera Nimjee saw the connections between music, culture, and society from a young age. She attended regular events at her community center, where fellow Muslims celebrated religious holidays together with nights of Indian folk dance, music parties, and Bollywood variety shows. While studying music as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto, she was drawn to the field of ethnomusicology because it allowed her to bring this cultural background into her studies. As assistant professor of ethnomusicology in the School of Music and Asian Studies Program, now she’s helping students discover the importance of music and how it connects politics, class, race, and culture.