This thesis focuses on the articulation in music of human worldviews, and the social contexts in which they emerge. It suggests that people project various forms of social reality through symbolic systems which operate dynamically to maintain and recreate cultural patterns. The symbolic system investigated in support of this suggestion is that constituted by Venda guitar songs. In the performance of these songs, social reality emerges in a combination of symbolic forms: verbal, musical and somatic. The combination of these symbolic forms serves as a medium for individual self-awareness basic to the establishment of social reality and identity, and the drive for social power and legitimacy. A study of these symbolic forms and their performance indicates that musicians invoke the potential of communal music to increase social support for certain principles on which survival strategies in a turbulently changing society might be based. The discourse of Venda guitar songs incorporates modes of popular expression and consciousness, and thus attempts to invoke states of intensified emotion to promote these survival strategies. Performance occasions emerge as a focus for community orientation and the exploration of social networks. They promote stabilizing social and economic interaction, and serve as a basis for moral and cooperative action. Social reality also emerges in musical style, which is treated as the audible articulation of human thought and emotion. Stylistic choices are treated as integral to the conceptualization of contemporary existence. A study of these choices reveals varying degrees of cultural resistance and assimilation, ranging from musical styles which are essentially rooted in traditional social patterns, to styles which integrate traditional and adopted musical elements as articulations of changing self-perceptions, social aspirations, and quests for new social identity.

published_or_final_version / Sociology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

This dissertation is an ethnographic and historical examination of Senegalese modern identity and cosmopolitanism through urban dance music. My central argument is that local popular culture thrives not in spite of transnational influences and processes, but as a result of a Senegalese cosmopolitanism that has long valued the borrowing and integration of foreign ideas, cultural practices, and material culture into local lifeways. My research focuses on the articulation of cosmopolitanism through mbalax, an urban dance music distinct to Senegal and valued by musicians and fans for its ability to shape, produce, re-produce, and articulate overlapping ideas of their ethnic, racial, generational, gendered, religious, and national identities. Specifically, I concentrate on the practice of black, Muslim, and Wolof identities that Senegalese urban dance music articulates most consistently. The majority of my fieldwork was carried out in the nightclubs and neighborhoods in Dakar, the capital city. I performed with different mbalax groups and witnessed how the practices of Wolofness, blackness, and Sufism layered and intersected to articulate a modern Senegalese identity, or Senegaleseness. This ethnographic work was complimented by research in recording studios, television studios, radio stations, and research institutions throughout Senegal. The dissertation begins with an historical inquiry into the foundations of Senegalese cosmopolitanism from precolonial Senegambia and the spread of Wolof hegemony, to colonial Dakar and the rise of a distinctive urban Senegalese identity that set the proximate conditions for the postcolonial cultural policy of Négritude and mbalax. Subsequent chapters focus on the practices of Wolofness, Sufism, and blackness articulated through mbalax.

On September 17, 2011, protestors set up camp in Zuccotti Park in New York's financial district, initiating a 59-day social and political movement known as Occupy Wall Street. Writing about the protest, James C. McKinley Jr. of the New York Times declared that the movement "lacks a melody" compared with protest movements of the previous century. Despite the common perception that little music accompanied the movement, organizers released Occupy This Album: 99 Songs for the 99%, a collection of songs connected with, written for, or written about the Occupy Wall Street movement. This thesis investigates the place of Occupy Wall Street in society through its musicking and through Occupy This Album: 99 Songs or the 99%. Building upon the sociomusicological work of R. Serge Denisoff and the work of Garth S. Jowett and Victoria O'Donnell, I propose a framework for a categorization of songs through their lyrical content and apply it to the music found on Occupy This Album. Then, using this framework, I determine the potential "progressiveness" of Occupy Wall Street through the modernization theory of Talcott Parsons. I contend that Occupy this Album: 99 Songs for the 99% shows Occupy Wall Street to be a modernizing movement as indicated through its large output of propaganda songs, showing a commitment to communication of diverse knowledge and ideologies and a generalization of value sets. This analysis and its conclusion situate Occupy Wall Street in society through its musical output rather than through its cultural and political effects

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Music / Master / Master of Philosophy

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Mus.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2000.

The aim of this qualitative research was to contribute to a richer understanding of the everyday life music information-seeking behaviour of young adults. The objectives were (1) to uncover the strategies and sources young adults use to discover new music artists or genres, (2) to understand what motivates young adults to engage in information-seeking activities, and (3) to explore what clues young adults look for in music items to make inferences about the relevance or utility of these items.Fifteen young adults (18 to 29 years old) of the French-speaking Montreal Metropolitan community participated in this study. The data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. Drawing on the research on shopping behaviour and music behaviour, Wilson's 1996 model of information behaviour has been revised and used to guide data collection and analysis. The data were analyzed inductively, using the constant comparative method.The analysis revealed that the participants had a strong penchant for informal channels (i.e., friends, colleagues, relatives) and low trust of experts (i.e., librarians, reviewers, music store staff). It also emerged that music discoveries were often the result of passive behaviour. When music was actively sought, it was rarely a goal-oriented activity. Indeed, it was mostly the pleasure they took in the activity itself – the hedonic outcome – that motivated them to look for music rather than an actual information need. Related to that, browsing, which is best suited for non-goal oriented information seeking, was a very common strategy among participants.The study also revealed that rich metadata, such as bibliographic information, associative metadata, recommendations, and reviews, were highly valued by the participants. In addition to allowing people to browse music in different ways, these metadata represent valuable information that is used to make inferences about the type of experience a music item proposes. Participa / Le but de cette recherche qualitative est de contribuer à une meilleure compréhension du comportement dans la recherche de musique des jeunes adultes dans la vie de tous les jours. Les objectifs étaient de comprendre (1) les stratégies et les sources que les jeunes adultes utilisent pour découvrir de nouvelles musiques; (2) ce qui les motive à entreprendre des recherches afin de découvrir de nouvelles musiques; et (3) la façon dont ils s'y prennent pour évaluer la pertinence ou l'utilité d'enregistrements musicaux.Quinze jeunes adultes (âgés entre 18 et 29 ans) francophones de la région du Montréal métropolitain ont participé à cette étude. Les données ont été collectées au moyen d'entretiens semi-structurés en profondeur. En s'appuyant sur la recherche sur les habitudes de magasinage et sur le comportement musical, le modèle de comportement informationnel développé par Wilson en 1996 a été modifié. C'est ce modèle qui a guidé la collecte et l'analyse des données. Les données ont été analysées de façon inductive, en utilisant la méthode d'analyse par comparaison constante.L'analyse a montré que les participants avaient une préférence marquée pour les sources d'information informelles (amis, collègues, famille) et une confiance limitée envers les experts (bibliothécaires, critiques, disquaires). Il est également apparu que leurs découvertes musicales étaient souvent le résultat d'un comportement passif. De plus, quand ils recherchaient activement de la musique, il s'agissait rarement d'une activité orientée vers un but précis. En effet, il s'est avéré que c'était davantage le plaisir qu'ils prenaient dans l'activité – le résultat hédonique – qui les motivait à entreprendre des recherches plutôt qu'un véritable besoin d'information. De la même façon, le bouquinage, qui constitue une méthode particulièrement appropriée pour rechercher de l'information sans but précis, était très populaire chez

In this thesis, I trace the evolution of the rap market from its emergence in 1979 in New York City to its development into a national industry in 1990. I analyze the motivations of the producers of rap and the mechanisms that led to their current organization. Independent labels were the primary producers of rap records until they made distribution deals with major record companies in the second half of the eighties. I argue that the division of labor between production and distribution, which became the most common context for the production of the music, is both the result of an organizational strategy initiated by the majors and of the negative perception their executives had of rap artists.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of IsiZulu Namagugu at the University of Zululand, 2007. / Music plays a vital role in African cultures and permeates all the spheres of life. Music is part and parcel of culture in African societies. Music informs culture, and culture also informs music. The study of African music using the comparative approach was fraught with numerous pitfalls and shortcomings. Music was studied in isolation, which led to a misconstrued picture of African music. This study has thus employed the ethnomusicological approach. The ethnomusicological approach ensures that music is analysed taking into consideration the cultural context of music. This study looks at mbaqanga music as culture and in culture. The history of mbaqanga music is, thus, analysed taking into account all the factors that impacted on its evolution. The first chapter serves as a background to this study. It deals with the aims of this research and the definition of terms. It also deals briefly with the research methodology employed in this study. The second chapter focuses on a literature review and analytic models. It also looks at the emergence of ethnomusicology as a discipline. It focuses on music as culture and music in culture, and, moreover, it looks at the types of popular music. The third chapter deals with the historical background of mbaqanga music. Genres such as marabi and kwela music are briefly discussed. The political and socio-cultural context of mbaqanga music is discussed. The role of musicians and the media in the development of mbaqanga music is also discussed. The fourth chapter deals with research methodology in detail. This chapter also focuses on the details related to data collection. The fifth chapter deals with the analysis and interpretation of data. It looks at findings from interviews conducted and the analysis of song texts. The sixth chapter offers recommendations and a summary of the findings.

No description available.