Women on the edge: place, space and women in music composition

Abstract

This thesis accompanies a portfolio of music compositions focused upon women and their relation to space and place within Eurocentric culture in the early years of the twenty-first century. The role of space and place, particularly postmodern space, has been well documented (Augé, 1995; Baudrillard 1994, Davis, 2006; Decertau 1984; Deleuze & Guattari, 1983, 1987; Giddens, 1991, Jameson 1991;Palladino & Miller, 2015; Soja, 1996; Solnit ,2004). A common theme, by authors of the texts above, is the variety of oppressive effects which are conferred by these spaces upon individuals. The authors above are mostly male, enjoying privilege in a sociey in which women are ideologically perceived by society as 'other'. If the male authors above experience negative impacts of space and place it seems possible women, including myself, could be doubly impacted. The study of negative impacts of space and place made up a sizeable part of this thesis. However, this thesis and related compositions, also consider how space and place can positively impact upon women's journeys of becoming. I particularly draw upon the work of educationalist Greene (2000). I focused on how Greene's inspirational work uses creative writing in two key areas. Firstly, how she uses creative writing to comprehend a given concept or situation. Secondly, how creative writing can be used to generate solutions to oppressive situations. I planned to use composition instead of creative writing for both comprehension of situations and concept and, additionally, solutions to oppression. I was interested in how my compositions influenced my own social and historical position as a woman and my journey of becoming. Quite frequently I drew upon the works of Deleuze and Guattari, whose imaginative and nuanced representations of space and place offered a rich source of stimuli for composition.

Date of Award	2020
Original language	English