Matching Items (3)
Filtering by
- Genre: Creative nonfiction
- Genre: Music--African influences.
- Genre: Music--Instruction and study--Psychological aspects.
Description
LGBTQ research in music education has become more available and accepted in the past ten years. LGBTQ studies in music education have focused on how gay and lesbian music educators negotiate their identities, the role of music education in the lives of transgender students, and the inclusion of LGBTQ issues in music teacher education programs. Studies have been limited to a singular content experience, such as gay vocal music educators or lesbian band directors. Additionally, studies have not explored multiple generations of LGBTQ music educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the lives as lived of six K-12 music teachers. Six individuals, from various career points, various generations, and various career paths shared their stories with me. To guide my analysis, I considered the following questions:
• How do lesbian and gay music educators describe their sexual identity and professional identity?
• How do gay and lesbian music educators negotiate the tensions between these identities?
• What internal and external factors influence these negotiations?
• What are the similarities and differences among the participants of different generations?
Two large emerged from the analysis that provided a better understanding of the participants’ lives: finding sexual identity and finding professional identity. Within those themes, smaller sub-themes helped to better understand how the participants came to understand their sexuality and professional identity. External factors such as social and family support, religion, and cultural and generational movements influenced the ways in which the participants came to understand their sexual identity. Participants desired to be seen first as a competent music teacher, but also understood that they could have an impact on a student as a gay or lesbian role model or mentor. Sexual identity and professional identity did not function as separate constructs; rather they were interwoven throughout these lesbian and gay music educator’s self-identities.
In order to connect the reader with the participants, I engaged in a creative non-fiction writing process to (re)tell participant’s stories. Each story is unique and crafted in a way that the participant’s voice is privileged over my own. The stories come from the conversations and journal entries that the participants shared with me. The purpose of the stories is to provide the reader with a contextual understanding of each participant’s life, and to offer some considerations for ways in which we can engage with and support our lesbian and gay music educator colleagues.
This paper does not end with a tidy conclusion, but rather more questions and provocations that will continue the conversations. I hope this document will encourage thoughtful and critical conversations in the music education profession to help us move us forward to a place that is more empathetic, socially-just, and equitable.
• How do lesbian and gay music educators describe their sexual identity and professional identity?
• How do gay and lesbian music educators negotiate the tensions between these identities?
• What internal and external factors influence these negotiations?
• What are the similarities and differences among the participants of different generations?
Two large emerged from the analysis that provided a better understanding of the participants’ lives: finding sexual identity and finding professional identity. Within those themes, smaller sub-themes helped to better understand how the participants came to understand their sexuality and professional identity. External factors such as social and family support, religion, and cultural and generational movements influenced the ways in which the participants came to understand their sexual identity. Participants desired to be seen first as a competent music teacher, but also understood that they could have an impact on a student as a gay or lesbian role model or mentor. Sexual identity and professional identity did not function as separate constructs; rather they were interwoven throughout these lesbian and gay music educator’s self-identities.
In order to connect the reader with the participants, I engaged in a creative non-fiction writing process to (re)tell participant’s stories. Each story is unique and crafted in a way that the participant’s voice is privileged over my own. The stories come from the conversations and journal entries that the participants shared with me. The purpose of the stories is to provide the reader with a contextual understanding of each participant’s life, and to offer some considerations for ways in which we can engage with and support our lesbian and gay music educator colleagues.
This paper does not end with a tidy conclusion, but rather more questions and provocations that will continue the conversations. I hope this document will encourage thoughtful and critical conversations in the music education profession to help us move us forward to a place that is more empathetic, socially-just, and equitable.
ContributorsMinette, Sarah Marie (Author) / Schmidt, Margaret (Thesis advisor) / Stauffer, Sandra (Committee member) / Sullivan, Jill (Committee member) / Paparo, Stephen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This dissertation is both creative and scholarly, engaging in the technique of "narrative scholarship," an increasingly accepted technique within the field of ecocriticism. The project is framed by my experiences with Spanish and Latino actors as well as activists involved with the 15-M movement in and around Madrid. It takes a "material ecocritical" approach, which is to say that it treats minds, spirits and language as necessarily "bodied" entities, and creates an absolute union between beings and the matter that constructs them as well as their habitat. I apply the lens of Jesper Hoffmeyer's Biosemiotics, which claims that life is at its most essential levels a communicative process. In other words, I will explore how "all matter is 'storied' matter," as well as how the "semiosphere," which is an important concept in biosmiotics, signaling a semiotic environment that predicts and defines all biological bodies/life, the human, the plant and the animal as beings who are made of and involved in semiotic activity, can serve as a basis for union amongst all bodies and provide a model of cooperation rooted in "storytelling." My project aims to embody what Wendy Wheeler describes as ecocriticism's, "syntheses between the sciences and the humanities" It is my strong opinion that creative writing has the power to offer the general public insight into the reasons why new research in biosemiotics is so important to the work that activists are doing to raise awareness of how humans can live responsibly on the only planet that is our home. This will help readers of creative writing and cultural studies scholars understand why they ought to embrace science, especially in literary and cultural studies, as a path to better understanding of the role of the humanities in an increasingly scientifically oriented world.
ContributorsDay, Timothy (Author) / Adamson, Joni (Thesis advisor) / Gutkind, Lee (Committee member) / Flys-Junquera, Carmen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
This dissertation investigates the life and career of singer Celia Cruz and the cultural legacy she has left the Hispanic culture in the United States and the world. It explores the musical journey of the Queen of Salsa and analyzes the different genres and themes that she developed in her performances during the years of her dedication to the public professional career. Among the various topics, this work discusses the African influence on the music of Celia Cruz because she made her first step to fame with the music and lyrics from African religious traditions. Additionally, this project investigates the theme of nostalgia and how Celia Cruz, with her music, helped to perpetuate the nostalgic feelings of Cuban exiles. It surveys the repertoire of songs with nostalgic themes that helps to perpetuate in the memory of the Cuban diaspora, a Cuba that no longer exists and is reflected only in their imagination. This work also examines feminist and queer issues in the life of Celia Cruz, in the lyrics of her songs and in many of her performances. Finally, it explores various stages in Celia Cruz's career that stand out: first, her beginnings in Cuba and Latin America where she soon became known as the Guarachera of Cuba; then, the contribution of Celia Cruz to the salsa music since its appearance in New York, its development in the United States, and its rapid international spread. Similarly, this project shows that Celia Cruz, with her performances worldwide, gained popularity and became the Queen of Salsa. She excelled on indoor and outdoor stages, on the small and big screen, and took her musical talent around the world. Because of her great artistic work, she was recognized for her achievements multiple times and won awards in the United States, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia, finally winning the title of Global Salsa Icon.
ContributorsRodríguez Torres, Caridad Milagros (Author) / Foster, David W (Thesis advisor) / Tompkins, Cynthia M (Committee member) / Urioste-Azcorra, Carmen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014