Digital Commons Network^™

"Game Recognize Game": How Hip-Hop Rhetoric Affects Perceptions Of Composition In College Freshmen, Ages 18-24, Veronica Nanette Williams

Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to help justify hip-hop as a valid example of rhetoric, this project is an informal investigation of how the hip-hop rhetoric affects perceptions of composition in college freshmen ages 18-24 using a small survey sample of first-year composition students. The resulting data indicates that hip-hop rhetoric does affect the perceptions of composition in hip-hop oriented students, specifically, hip-hop rhetoric's emphasis on ethos, or authenticity, seems to influence those students' assessments of their college compositions in terms of classical rhetorical aims.

Fighting For The Home Team; Music And Stadium Violence, Avital Rosen

Dissertations and Theses

No abstract provided.

Romantic Exoticism: The Music Of Elsewhere In The Nineteenth Century, Josiah Raiche

Senior Honors Theses

Western art music has drawn on many sources. One of these is non-western music, which can be integrated into European classical music tradition in the form of exoticism. This paper will highlight musical elements used by composers seeking to create exoticism, examine selected works, and note common elements of western music that have exotic roots. In the nineteenth century, there were three general trends in exoticism. The first, non-musical exoticism, utilizes conventional western music alongside extra-musical exotic elements. Romantic exoticism portrays distant lands using musical elements, drawing these from the audience’s perceptions of the music represented. Realistic exoticism attempts to …

Unlocking The Paradox Of Christian Metal Music, Eric S. Strother

Theses and Dissertations--Music

In 1984, Stryper released its first album The Yellow and Black Attack and introduced audiences to a different kind of heavy metal. Instead of lyrics about sex, alcohol, and Satan, Stryper sang about Jesus, salvation, and God. While there were a number of fans ready for this change more were not. Members of the Church as well as members of the metal subculture were in agreement that Christianity and heavy metal were incompatible. Despite these objections, however, more bands emerged, and Christian metal became a significant genre within the Christian music industry. These bands presented Christian-oriented lyrics within the full …

Calypso: Effecting Conflict Transformation Through The Indigenous Calypso Art-Form, Edward M. Phillips

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

The calypso, which forms an integral part of the carnival celebrations of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is a syncretic popular art-form that has its origin in Africa. The art-form, having been influenced and adapted by the experiences of enslaved Africans in the Diaspora, has been fused in the vortex of plantation society. Today, the music of carnival has evolved considerably, with the calypso becoming one of the cornerstones of the carnival celebration. This paper looks at aspects of the subset of political calypsos that offer commentary on the socio-political and/or economic issues in the Republic of Trinidad and …

Performing Folk Punk : Agonistic Performances Of Intersectionality, Benjamin D. Haas

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The overarching goal of this project is to argue that folk punk performances offer spaces where a listening audience is exposed to a radical and intersectional politics, and enable that audience to identify with those views. By considering the performances of Inky Skulls, Pussy Riot!, and Against Me!, this study looks to the ways in which these folk punk exemplars highlight elements of the radical politics of the American left and in the history of folk and punk music. In particular, this project considers the intersections of race and class, women and nonhuman animals, and queerness and anarchism, as intersecting …

Singing Japan’S Heart And Soul: A Discourse On The Black Enka Singer Jero And Race Politics In Japan, Neriko Musha Doerr, Yuri Kumagai

East Asian Languages & Cultures: Faculty Publications

This article analyses a discourse around the ascendancy of Jero, an ‘African-American’ male dressed in hip-hop attire singing enka, a genre of music that has been dubbed ‘the heart and soul of Japan.’ Since his debut in Japan in February 2008, Jero has attracted much media attention. This article analyses a prominent discourse, ‘Jero is almost Japanese because he sings enka well.’ While many argue that to challenge stereotypes and racism is to introduce alternative role models, we show that such alternative role models can also reinforce the existing regime of difference of Japanese vs. the Other and perpetuate …

When Black Meets White In The Heart Of Worship: A Case-Study Of Musical Changes In A Multiracial Church, Serge Volpe

Masters Theses

The Worldwide Church of God began as a denomination relying on certain Jewish practices and other Euro-centric distinctions to define its' identity. In the New York City area, African-American churchgoers exceeded that of whites; yet church liturgy retained its European-American flavor. When the denomination underwent transformation in the 1990s, many congregants were unable to accept changes, including new musical styles, and reacted in a manner inconsistent with what church leaders had hoped for. This thesis examines what some African-Americans experienced during this period when liturgy changed to include music representative of their culture. Interviews were conducted with African-American churchgoers from …

Mary And Women In Late Imperial Russian Orthodoxy, Vera Shevzov

Religion: Faculty Books

Russian women of the nineteenth century are often thought of in their literary incarnations as the heroines of novels such as Anna Karenina and War and Peace. But their real-life counterparts are now becoming better understood as active contributors to Russia's varied cultural landscape. This collection of essays examines the lives of women across Russia - from wealthy noblewomen in St Petersburg to desperately poor peasants in Siberia - discussing their interaction with the Church and the law, and their rich contribution to music, art, literature and theatre. It shows how women struggled for greater autonomy and, both individually and …

Mississippi Breakdown: A New Look At The Mississippi Old Time Fiddle Music Traditions, Joseph Jamison Hollister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is a cultural study that focuses on the fiddle music of Mississippi. It includes both Anglo and African American roots. Also, the white blues fiddle traditions of Mississippi are examined and analyzed.

A Historical Analysis Of Living Blues Magazine, Melanie Young

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines Living Blues magazine and its history through its stated cultural focus on African American music.

Intertwined Cultural Journeys: An Autoethnography Of Learning, Teaching, And Affirming Diversity Through Multicultural Music, Kathryn Blackmon

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

As our schools gain more and more children from different cultures and ethnicities, there is an increasing need to diversify curriculum to assist in cultivating tolerance and understanding. Drawing upon an eclectic group of theorists who highlight the importance of meaningful curricula and education, and using autoethnography as method, I explore aspects of reflective teaching and student empowerment through the medium of multicultural music education. Connections between my own cultural heritage and the cultures of my students were made through a critical evaluation of my current approach to multicultural music education. Using multiple information sources including student observations, lesson plans, …

Semiotics, Habitus And Music In The Transmission Of Tibetan Culture In Toronto, John Robertson

Masters Theses

This ethnographic study explores the role of music in cultural transmission in the Tibetan community of Toronto, Canada. Beginning with an integration of Peircian semiotics, Bourdieu's habitus and musical semiosis, I then identify certain non-Tibetan cultural elements being encountered by those in the Toronto community which are potentially creating cognitive structures foreign to those which have their generative principles in pre-exile Tibetan past, and the ways in which Tibetans are transmitting (to varying degrees) cognitive schemata which identify these non-Tibetan elements and protect against their appropriation. After exploring elements which are not Tibetan, I turn to those which are: a …

From Gwoka Modénn To Jazz Ka: Music, Nationalism, And Creolization In Guadeloupe, Jerome Camal

All Theses and Dissertations (ETDs)

My dissertation explores the development of new musical styles based on gwoka, a Guadeloupean drum-based music and dance tradition. During five visits to Guadeloupe between 2007 and 2009, I interviewed musicians, music professionals, and cultural and political activists. In addition, I attended numerous musical performances, learned to play and dance gwoka, and performed with several ensembles. I combine this ethnographic data with archival evidence to reveal how Guadeloupe's atypical path to decolonization and economic dependency has fueled the growth of nationalist sentiment on the island. Using transcriptions and analyses of musical recordings, I demonstrate how musicians have participated in Guadeloupe's …

Young Native Fiddlers: A Case Study On Cultural Resilience In Interior Alaska, Maryanne Allan

Indigenous Studies

This study explores success for Alaska Native young people, defining success using an Alaska Native point of view, that is, interconnectedness between culturally healthy youth and a culturally nurturing community. As a participatory action research project, members of the community, including musicians, young fiddlers, and their parents and grandparents are collaborating to develop a culturally-based youth group (Young Native Fiddlers) focused on Athabascan fiddling, a 150 year old Athabascan tradition, with the goal of developing culturally healthy youth. This study focuses on the impact of this program on its members and on the community. Using a participatory action research process, …

The Perverse In Historical Perception: Anne Frank And Neutral Milk Hotel In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, David Rando

English Faculty Research

The cover art for Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Aeroplane over the Sea reproduces a turn-of-the-century postcard that depicts bathers in an ocean. In the foreground, the figure of a woman leans propped against a railing. For the album, her head has been replaced with a well-worn drumhead. She and the nearest bather have an arm raised. From behind the woman, another raised arm of an otherwise subtended bather appears. Two figures farther in the distance are in the water up to their heads. The blithe face of the nearest bather looks up toward the woman, whose own face has …

The Effects Of Commercialization On The Perception Of Hip Hop Culture And Black Culture In Mainstream Culture In The United States, Chris A. Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is examines how the perception of a sub-culture can be altered by a dominant culture. Specifically this project addresses the effects resulting from the assimilation of Hip Hop Culture by mainstream culture in the United States, and its subsequent use as a marketing tool. Because Hip Hop Culture originated in Black Culture, the perception of Black Culture as reflected by hip hop music is also discussed. All of these themes are addressed creatively through a narrative script project.

Context Dependent Pitch Perception In Consonant And Dissonant Harmonic Intervals, George Albert Seror

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Abstract

Digitally Enhanced: Adorno For The 21st-Century, Stephen Messa

Master's Theses and Capstones

Theodor Adorno is an influential figure in cultural studies, philosophy, and musicology. However, a re-examination of Adorno's framework in the context of contemporary media studies is necessary because audio production and distribution technologies have changed dramatically since Adorno's time of writing. In this thesis, I apply Adorno's critical framework to the electronic artist Owl City. In doing so, I enhance Adorno's model of analysis in order to allow for both regressive and progressive interpretations of contemporary music culture. I argue that social media facilitate a more efficacious culture industry, and that digital media facilitate a progressive form of escaping from …

Fan Commitment And Its Transformation Into Communitas Through The Process Of Proxemic Exchange, Arthur Alexander Aguirre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Live performances are comprised of various elements that scholars have utilized to understand the artist-fan relationship as well as the relationship among the fans themselves. In this study, I look at fandom in independent, or “indie” music and utilize my findings to creation a foundation for the understanding of fan commitment. I then argue that when a fan of a particular artist attends a live performance by that artist, they inherently engage in a proxemic exchange with the artist as well as the fans around them. This proxemic exchange is driven by fan commitment and facilitates the creation of communitas …

Effects Of The Emo Music Genre, Vincent Piccone Mazzaferro

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

The Corrido: A Border Rhetoric, Mark Noe

Writing and Language Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Jienan Yuan (Chien Yuan) Interview, Lauren Smith

Asian American Art Oral History Project

2009 interview with record producer and composer Chien Yuan by Lauren Smith

"Which Way To The Honky-Tonk?" An Analysis Of The Bakersfield And Nashville Sounds, Matthew Arnold

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to analyze the development of the Nashville and Bakersfield sounds in the 1950s and 1960s through the lens of space. I will examine the role class plays in country music by examining the places in which it developed. Beginning with a historical perspective of the music, I will show that a middle-class outlook controlled labeling of the music. While the early country music industry professed to "discover" the sounds of rural America, this sound was only allowed to be expressed if it conformed to corporate interests.

With the advent of the honky-tonk bar, the …

Realness And Hoodness: Authenticity In Hip Hop As Discussed By Adolescent Fans, Ginger L. Jacobson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Various forms of media penetrate our lives daily. Hip hop music has gained universal appeal and widespread success that permeates barriers of race, class, gender, age, and nationality. It is important for social service workers, parents, educators and other adults who interact with youth to understand the roles hip hop music and culture can play in the identities of those who are listening. In this study I conducted 12 open-ended interviews with adolescent hip hop fans about their music. The research presented in this thesis suggests that adolescent hip hop fans are making interpretations from the media and applying them …

Culturally Identifying The Performance Practices Of Astor Piazzolla's Second Quinteto, Kacey Quin Link

Open Access Theses

Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) captivated Argentine and international audiences with his innovative works in a nuevo tango style and his bandoneón performances. Piazzolla?s success culminated during the 1980s with his second Quinteto, which performed remarkable concerts in venues such as the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and the Central Park Bandshell in New York, in addition to the performances at the Montreal and Montreux Jazz Festivals. His music also grew popular with a plethora of internationally acclaimed classical and jazz artists as well as with Argentine musicians themselves. However, Piazzolla?s music poses a challenge today, because nuevo tango represents a synthesis …

Y'All Think We're Stupid: Deconstructing Media Stereotypes Of The American South, Karen C. Hamilton

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the various stereotypes that persist about the American South, giving consideration to the common stereotypes, their persistence, and the response of Southerners and non-Southerners to them. Further, it aims to examine in-depth the methods by which these stereotypes are perpetuated, such as literature, movies, television, and music. Within this dissertation, pieces of literature by traditional Southern authors, like William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams, are examined for the images they employ. Further, films such as Deliverance and Sweet Home Alabama, as well as television shows like The Dukes of Hazzard and The Beverly Hillbillies are analyzed for how …

Moody Blues: The Social Web, Tagging, And Nontextual Discovery Tools For Music, Susannah Cleveland, Gwen Evans

University Libraries Faculty Publications

A common thread in discussions about the Next Generation Catalog is that it should incorporate features beyond the mere textual, one-way presentation of data. At the same time, traditional textual description of music materials often prohibits effective use of the catalog by specialists and nonspecialists alike. Librarians at Bowling Green State University have developed the HueTunes project to explore already established connections between music, color, and emotion, and incorporate those connections into a nontextual discovery tool that could enhance interdisciplinary as well as specialist use of the catalog.

Franz Joseph Haydn's Writing For Wind Instruments And The Evolution Of The Military Band And Orchestral Wind Section, Jonathan Neiderhiser

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The compositional career of Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) spans a crucial period in Western musical history. Haydn's early compositions show the influence of the late Baroque, while his late symphonies and Masses can be heard as early examples of musical Romanticism. At this same time, the development of new wind instruments within European military bands heavily influenced the establishment of the symphony orchestra, as instruments initially deemed inappropriate for indoor performance became accepted as core members of the ensemble. Haydn's critical role in the growth of the symphony has long been acknowledged, but the increasing sophistication of his wind writing …

"I'Ll Rise": Rememory, Hope And The Creation Of A New Public Sphere In Ben Harper's Music, Delphine Gras

Ethnic Studies Review

Recent studies about resistance music in the United States primarily focus on the hip-hop movement. However, it does not offer the only musical discourse contesting contemporary injustices. Even though the debate about hip-hop is a crucial one that deserves full attention, it seems necessary to widen the current conversation on music to take into account a wider array of musical genres and artists. This will in turn allow us to see the revolutionary power of music in its full force. In the United States, black music, from the Spirituals to Rhythm and Blues, has undeniably been a potent agent for …