Wilfrid Laurier University Welcomes Kate Galloway as Assistant Professor of Musicology

May 4, 2026

Wilfrid Laurier University’s Faculty of Music is pleased to welcome Dr. Kate Galloway as assistant professor of musicology. An interdisciplinary scholar working across popular music studies, sound studies, media studies and environmental humanities, Galloway brings a dynamic and timely research profile to Laurier’s growth in contemporary music and culture. 

Galloway’s work explores how sound and music shape relationships between technology, culture and the environment. Her research examines practices of remixing, reuse and media circulation across digital and popular music cultures, with particular attention to sustainability, ecological listening and the ways sound moves across platforms and communities. 

“Dr. Galloway’s work reflects the kind of forward-thinking, interdisciplinary approach that is shaping the future of music studies,” said Cynthia Johnston Turner, dean of the Faculty of Music. “Her research connects directly with the lived musical experiences of today’s students, and her expertise in popular music, digital culture and sound studies will be an incredible asset to our community.” 

Her forthcoming book, Remix, Reuse, Recycle: Music, Media Technologies, and Remediating the Environment (Oxford University Press, 2026), investigates how artists and communities repurpose sound and media to engage environmental knowledge and ecological concerns. She is also developing a second book, Star Power, Paw Power: Animals, Audiovisuality, and Identity in Pop Stardom, which explores how artists such as Harry Styles, Mitski, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Freddie Mercury, Rufus Wainwright and Taylor Swift use animal symbolism and relationships to shape artistic identity and audience connection. 

A leading voice in contemporary popular music and fandom studies, particularly in relation to Taylor Swift, Galloway is co-editor of Taylor Swift: The Star, The Songs, The Fans (Routledge, 2025). She is also co-editor of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Online Music Cultures, which examines how digital platforms and networked communities are transforming music creation, circulation and listening in the 21st century. 

I’m thrilled to be joining Laurier at a moment when popular music studies is expanding in such exciting ways,” said Galloway. “I’m interested in how music is lived with on a daily basis—how sound moves across platforms, communities, and environments, and how these movements shape the ways we connect with each other and make sense of the world around us. I love creating space for students to bring their own listening practices, fandoms, and musical worlds into the classroom, and to explore them together with care and critical attention. For me, teaching popular music is about helping students hear more deeply, think more expansively and recognize their place within a rich, diverse and constantly shifting soundscape.” 

Her editorial and scholarly work extends to areas including game sound, digital media and accessibility, with publications such as Music and Sonic Environments in Video Games (Routledge, 2024) and a forthcoming collection on mediation and disability. Her research has appeared in leading journals including Popular Music, Journal of Popular Music Studies, Sound Studies and MUSICultures. 

Before joining Laurier, Galloway held academic appointments at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, Harvard University in Massachusetts and Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She earned her PhD from the University of Toronto. 

Galloway will begin her role in July 2026.