On the afternoon of April 27th, the College of Liberal Arts held the Tamkang Clement and Carrie Chair in the Chang Yeo Lan International Conference Hall of the Hsu Shou Chlien International Conference Center, inviting Dr. Timothy J. Dowd, Chair of the Department of Sociology at Emory University in the United States, to give a talk on "Music and Musician Careers in the Digital Era". Over 220 teachers and students attended the lecture. The College of Liberal Arts also arranged for Professor Dowd to have a conversation-style program with Assistant Professor Yun Tai from the Department of Mass Communication at the "Voice of Tamkang" Podcast Lab. In the podcast program, Professor Dowd shared his reasons for engaging in music research, recent research plans, his views on the impact of AI on music production, and recommended some musicians and their works.

Dr. Huei-Chun Chi, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said that it had been 2 and a half years since the Tamkang Clement and Carrie Chair was last held due to the pandemic. She was very honored to invite Dr. Timothy J. Dowd, Chair of the Department of Sociology at Emory University in the United States, to give a lecture, and believed that the lecture was a very interesting event. Professor Dowd talked about the various relationships between music and society, culture, and history, under the theme of "Why Sociologists Should Study Music?" Through topics related to music, the places or tools for producing music, and the media for disseminating music, he introduced the relationship between music and society. He also used "BRIDGES" to describe the use of music to connect society, culture, and express oneself.

Chair Da-Lun Tang of the Department of Mass Communication expressed that Professor Dowd pointed out that perhaps few people think that sociology is related to music. However, the content of music and music creation and performance activities are all worthy of exploration by sociology. Professor Dowd reviewed the changes in the American music recording industry over the past century and pointed out that in the past, large corporations and big stars monopolized all music profits. However, with the evolution of digital technology, various new types of music groups have emerged, and large companies have transformed by absorbing various music groups. The way of making profits has also changed. These changes in the music industry are precisely a microcosm for understanding social changes.

Guo-Chen Chen, a junior student from the Department of Mass Communication, said after listening that "Music can both differentiate and break down class barriers. It reminds me of how jazz music initially crossed racial boundaries, but later became a division between different social groups due to increasing barriers." Hai-Yun Hsu, a 3rd-year student from the Department of Chinese, shared her interest in sociology and said that anything related to individuals or groups can be studied in sociology. Today's speaker mentioned the changes in the music industry between past and present musicians. In the digital age, anyone can become a musician, whereas in the past, musicians often had to work multiple jobs to make a living. Today's musicians have many AI tools to assist them, which she found very interesting.

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