The discourse of music scholarship
Abstract
Even though it is often said that music exists "in a world of (its) own, beyond the reach of discourse," the scholar in the discipline finds it essential to write. The basic question driving this study is: why? What is the function of written discourse in a branch of knowledge which is believed to be beyond words? To discover the nature and function of scholarly discourse in the discipline of music, this study analyzes texts written by four professors of music. What this study demonstrates is how, through writing, the musicologist, the performer, the composer and the teacher of music are able to represent themselves as scholars and thus to establish their membership in the discipline of music; how they create and address a communicative forum; and how through dialog and argumentation they generate new knowledge. Given the fact that the rhetoric of music scholarship reflects the epistemological assumptions and values of music studies and is embedded in the activities of the discipline, the study argues for the teaching of writing as part of the discipline, rather than separate from it.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Lauer, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Rhetoric|Composition|Music education|Language arts
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