Previous studies of gender in post-socialist societies have described a shift in gender roles where women became associated with the domestic sphere, particularly within nationalist literature and in everyday discourses about the nation. However, this literature fails to adequately explore what domestic activities women are participating in and how they may gain status or power through those activities. In agreement with post-socialist literature concerning the shift in gender roles, Armenian nationalism presents a view of women as ideal mothers and caretakers, often relegated to the domestic sphere. However, also within nationalist literature and contemporary discourse about Armenian identity is another central theme explored here: the survival of Armenian families and Armenia itself in situations of innumerable odds, feats that are often credited to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of individuals of the small and often out-numbered nation. The significance of "making do" or improvisation in Armenian daily life and in national narratives is significant to a study of gender in independent Armenia because it is primarily the woman's responsibility to procure and prepare all of the resources necessary for feeding her family. Therefore, I argue that cooking practices in Armenia are certainly a part of domestic life, but contrary to some Western feminist ideals, domestic activities are neither stifling to women's creativity nor are they activities that are devalued or in other ways less important than public activities. In Armenia, this is because women can appeal to `traditional' national ideologies in order to reaffirm their status as women and mothers, which subsequently allows them to earn prestige within the community and to exert influence within their households.

Målet med detta arbete är att undersöka hur man kan spela jazz i duo med saxofon och piano. Undersökningen är baserad på en månad med repetitioner och en studioinspelning. Undersökningen är inspirerad av deltagande observation och introspektion. Ett av undersökningens resultat är att det i en jazzduo kan det vara fördelaktigt att i improvisationenistället för att använda ackordföljden som "karta" använda sig av kompositionens melodi. Olika sätt att bryta instrumentens enligt konventionen inom jazz givna roller i improvisationen diskuteras också.

Le point de départ se situe dans l’écoute et l’impression d’improvisation laissée par les œuvres d’Enesco sur nous, en tant qu’auditeur subjectif. Nous plaçons ici l’expérience musicale, et non le seul texte musical au centre de notre interrogation. Par quels moyens et avec quelle terminologie peut-on rendre compte de cette impression d’improvisé dans une oeuvre écrite et, a priori, composée ? Les allures improvisées répondent à cette question et seront considérées comme fiction esthétique dans le sens qu’elles n’existent que pour l’auditeur. Deux catégories se révèlent dans la création d’une perception typique des allures improvisées, en lien avec des procédés d’écriture spécifiques : l’improvisation écrite, comme potentielle improvisation notée, et l’écriture improvisatrice, comme fausse improvisation. L’improvisation écrite se définit comme avatar potentiel de l’improvisation, changement, modification qui implique l’écriture. L’écriture improvisatrice se définit comme une fausse improvisation et par conséquent elle n’est qu’une imitation, par les moyens de la composition, de l’improvisation. / The starting point lies in the act of listening and the impression of improvisation left by Enesco's musical works on us, subjective listeners. We shall place the musical experience - and not just the mere musical text - at the core of our analysis. By what means and through what terminology can the impression of improvisation be accounted for in a written and theoretically composed musical work ? The seemingly improvised airs provide an answer to this question and will be considered as aesthetic fiction, in the sense that they exist only for the listener. Two categories emerge from the creation of a typical perception of the seemingly improvised airs, linked to specific writing techniques : written improvisation - as a potentially noted improvisation, and improvisatory writing - as a false improvisation. Written improvisation is defined as the potential avatar of improvisation, a change, a modification which implies writing. Improvisatory writing is defined as false improvisation ; consequently, it is nothing but an imitation, by means of composition, of improvisation.

This dissertation considers the rhetorical use of the term “spontaneity” and action affiliated with it from the perspective of ethnomethodology, as a dynamic social practice emergent from concrete interactions among people. I first consider a variety of existing operationalizations of “spontaneity” in academic research from the perspective of what is ethnomethodologically accomplished by these operationalizations, i.e., what questions do they answer or attempt to answer? I then turn to a detailed rhetorical analysis of the term “spontaneity” as an ideograph in improvisational theatre, a social practice in which enactment of spontaneity is treated as criterial to identity and recognition of the practice. In this ideographic analysis, I consider both a set of popular improv method texts and a collection of interviews with improviers who relate narratives about their experiences or observations of spontaneity. I assess the rhetorical practices in these artifacts both through the operationalization framework I identify and from a critical perspective, asking how practices of spontaneity in improv relate to social structures and practices of privilege, oppression and power.

In recent decades social scientists have started to use qualitative creative methods1 more and more, because of epistemological and methodological developments on the one hand and demands of innovation by governmental funding agencies on the other. In my thesis I look at the research practices of social scientists who use these qualitative creative methods and answer the following main research question: How are practices and approaches from the arts (specifically visual lens-based arts, poetry, performance and narrative) negotiated in social scientific research practice? This question has been divided into the following three sub-questions: 1) How do social scientists negotiate the use of creative methods with other members of their research community? 2) How do social scientists negotiate the use of creative methods into their own research practices? 3) And how do creative methods emerge in the process? Using Lave and Wenger's approach to communities of practice (1991; Wenger, 1998) and Ingold and Hallam's (2007) conceptualisation of improvisation for my theoretical framework, I look at these practices as constantly emerging and changing, but at the same time determined by those same practices. Based on ongoing conversations with postgraduate research students, interviews with experienced researchers, participant observation at conferences and videos of my participants' presentations, I conclude that the use of creative methods is always embedded within existing research practices. When this is not the case, either participants themselves or other academics experience the creative methods as problematic or even as non-academic. In those cases boundarywork (the in- and exclusion of what is deemed academic) is performed more fiercely, making it difficult, if not impossible for creative methods to be truly innovative in the sense that it means a break with previous practices. Instead, we see small shifts in participants' academic practices and how creative methods are taken up in these practices. This means improvisation is a more apt term to describe how creative methods are making their way into social scientific research practices/into the social sciences. As such this conclusion has consequences for the way we think about learning methods, the production of knowledge, innovative methods and (inter)disciplinarity.

abstract: "beautiful secrets," a movement art piece engaging the audience in the art-making, exists in the in-between, an indeterminable place, fluid like the water of Kiwanis Lake. The performers sang, danced and built an architectural environment with the help of the audience to create a transformational place betwixt here and there, day and night, death and life; an in-between land where the language is mystical and symbolic, and the water of Kiwanis Lake served as a symbol of transformation. Beneath the art was a method called Somatic Yoga Dance in which the performers trained in preparation for the performance. Below the method was a blessing in which beautiful secrets took root --- a prayer for peace. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Dance 2017

This project aims to explore and substantiate the approach which I use in composing, practicing and improvising, from the perspective of me as a saxophone player with perfect pitch. This will be done through writing music and describing the process, my own practicing and the rehearsals in preparation for the examination concert. The approach relies on a musician´s ability to, like a painter, have a clear vision of the end result imagined. This is a big advantage as opposed to only knowing the rules and the norms regarding composing and improvising, as the musician then can have a clear idea of a sound which then can be performed, for example a musical melody that the musician can hear before playing it. The question I ask myself is how this ability can interact, and perhaps form a symbiotic relationship, with other abilities such as knowledge of music theory and the limits of my technical ability on my instrument and how I as a musician can learn from this in order to advance as an improviser and a composer. This project is done through my perspective as a saxophone player. / <p>Medverkande på examenskonsert:</p><p>Mikael Emilsson - Saxofon</p><p>Oskar Lindström - Piano</p><p>Jonathan Lundberg - Trummor</p><p>Henrik Linder - Elbas</p><p></p><p>Repertoar: </p><p>Stronger Prologue - Mikael Emilsson</p><p>Double Bag - Mikael Emilsson</p><p>Tryna Sleep - Mikael Emilsson</p><p>Giant Steps - John Coltrane</p><p>Looser - Mikael Emilsson</p><p>We Make Party When We See Us - Henrik Linder/Erik Linder</p><p></p><p>Konserten spelades in och ljudfil finns bifogad.</p>

abstract: This document is intended to show the various kinds of stylistically appropriate melodic and rhythmic ornamentation that can be used in the improvisation of the Sarabandes by J.S. Bach. Traditional editions of Bach's and other Baroque-era keyboard works have reflected evolving historical trends. The historical performance movement and other attempts to "clean up" pre-1950s romanticized performances have greatly limited the freedom and experimentation that was the original intention of these dances. Prior to this study, few ornamented editions of these works have been published. Although traditional practices do not necessarily encourage classical improvisation in performance I argue that manipulation of the melodic and rhythmic layers over the established harmonic progressions will not only provide diversity within the individual dance movements, but also further engage the ears of the performer and listener which encourages further creative exploration. I will focus this study on the ornamentation of all six Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites and show how various types of melodic and rhythmic variation can provide aurally pleasing alternatives to the composed score without disrupting the harmonic fluency. The author intends this document to be used as a pedagogical tool and the fully ornamented Sarabandes from J.S. Bach's French Suites are included with this document. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2013

abstract: This project sheds light on trombonist Andy Martin's improvisation and provides tools for further learning. A biographical sketch gives background on Martin, establishing him as a newer jazz master. Through the transcription and analysis of nine improvised solos, Martin's improvisational voice and vocabulary is deciphered and presented as a series of seven thematic hooks. These patterns, rhythms, and gestures are described, analyzed, and presented as examples of how each is used in the solos. The hooks are also set as application exercises for learning jazz style and improvisation. These exercises demonstrate how to use Martin's hooks as a means for furthering one's own improvisation. A full method for successful transcription is also presented, along with the printed transcriptions and their accompanying information sheets. / Dissertation/Thesis / D.M.A. Music 2013

Syftet med studien är att belysa musikpedagogers upplevelser av improvisation i sinundervisning, samt hur de arbetar med improvisation i pedagogiska situationer.Utgångspunkten i studien var de möjligheter som finns med improvisation som strategi förlärande och de tankar som förekommer huruvida improvisationen kräver någraförkunskaper eller ej.För att nå ämnets syfte har kvalitativa narrativa intervjuer genomförts med sexinformanter som är verksamma musikpedagoger. De utvalda pedagogerna arbetar medimprovisation främst i gymnasieskolan men även i kulturskolan. Studien riktar sig varkentill något specifikt instrument eller specifik genre. Resultatet presenteras i form av tioteman: Att erhålla frihet; Att erfara vardaglig instinkt; Att uttrycka sig idiomatiskt; Attutgå från den musikaliska verktygslådan; Att behärska musikens hantverk; Att hindras avsjälvkritik och rädsla; Att vara spontan; Att greppa improvisationens värld; Att upplevagenom lyssning; Att följa till kunskap. Dessa teman skildrar innebörder av pedagogernasupplevelser av improvisation i undervisning. Resultatet reflekteras över med hjälp avbland annat Stenströms (2009) begrepp fri/idiomatisk improvisation och hur den kankopplas till genrekännedom; Nachmanovitch (2010) spirituella syn av improvisation;Berkowitz (2014) syn av genreorienterade improvisation; samt von Wachenfeldts (2015)avpassning av den mimetiska processen.