Publication Type: Invited Paper
Abstract: Little attention has been paid by organizational communication scholars to occupations where the object of work is the body itself, such as in ballet, Olympic sports, or classical music (for an exception see Ruud, 2000, 2005). All these careers require an early start (often before the age of 10) and regular, disciplined training, in order to achieve a certain standard of physical and mental performance. Among these embodied occupations, classical music, which is the focus of this study, is notorious for requiring one of the longest occupational socialization processes. The long and disciplined training is required to develop not only physical-instrumental abilities, but also interpretative, cognitive and psychological skills without which an artistic performance is not complete. Work viewed as performance sets up not only on-stage/back-stage boundaries (Putnam et al., 1996), but also mental, social and economic structures that create a unique set of values, rituals, rewards and penalties for these careers. Moreover, the body of the musician functions as the object of work, producer of sound, and message to be looked at, listened to, applauded, or (dis)liked, with multiple valences but never neutral. This study uses secondary literature and semi-structured interviews to investigate the meaning of embodied work as understood by children aged 13-25 who are currently training to become professional musicians.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The literature on jazz is vast, focusing on the biographies of influential figures, history and emergence of performing styles, and the influence of jazz on other areas of culture and society. However, only two studies, and no studies in the United States, have examined jazz musician communities, including not only the famous but also the obscure, the leaders as well as the followers, and both were limited by the use of non-probability sampling methods. This study reports on studies of jazz musician communities in the greater New York metropolitan area and the San Francisco bay area, using a sampling method, respondent-driven sampling, permits representative samples to be drawn even from hard-to-reach populations. The analysis also introduces a new method for studying the structure of very large social networks, termed “breakpoint analysis.” The principle focus was on identifying patterns of affiliation, that is, determining who associates with whom as a means for analyzing the network structures and stratification within both communities. The results show that affiliation among jazz musicians is shaped by demographic factors, such as race, ethnicity, gender, and age; but the more important determinants of affiliation involve professional contacts and involvement in the jazz musician community. Style of performance has effects on affiliation that are intermediate in strength. Both communities were found to be stratified, but inequality by age and gender were found to be greater in San Francisco than in New York City, as was stratification based on professional involvement.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Based on 32 interviews with southern rock musicians, over 700 of song lyrics, downloaded websites, and participant observation of concerts, we examine how southern rockers construct themselves poor, rural, white men. While popular culture often uses negative stereotypes to degrade poor whites, we show how southern rock musicians reclaim what they view as positive attributes of “white trash.” They do this by embracing symbols of southern white trash (including the confederate flag), glorifying rural poverty, and celebrating drunken violence. We bring a focus on capitalism into our analysis by uncovering how class is central to southern rockers’ racialized and classed identity construction, situating them as marginalized workers in a culture industry, and drawing out implications for class reproduction.

Publication Type: Poster
Abstract: The Jewish brothers Saleh (1908-1986) and Daud Al Kuwaiti (1910-1976) were among the leading urban musicians of Kuwait in the 1920s, producing songs that were favorites of the learned class and royals of the region. In order to advance their musical careers, both Kuwaiti men left for Iraq in the 1930s. In Baghdad, a foremost music hub of the Middle East, the brothers received great acclaim. They established and performed in the orchestra of Iraq’s first radio station, and their gifts as composers, singers, and musicians (Saleh on violin and Daud on oud, i.e., lute), gained them notoriety throughout the Arab world as well as locally: they were beloved by King Faisal of Iraq. In the 1950s, while still revered, the brothers moved to Israel only to harshly discover that their “Arab” type of music was not valued, indeed, it was viewed by many with great disdain. Thus, the last decades of their lives were difficult as the men struggled to fit into a new culture. The professional journey of Saleh and Daud Al Kuwaiti manifest the challenges of artists migrating between three Middle Eastern societies. This poster session presents these almost-forgotten musicians as a case study of immigration and cultural anxiety within the Middle East in the 20th century.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The Baroque and Recorder Ensembles at the University of Pennsylvania are music department sponsored performance groups. Recorders are woodwind instruments shaped like rods that are held upright. Holes in the instruments are closed or opened to produce different pitches and the four voices of recorders are soprano, alto, tenor, and bass. Performing in the Recorder Ensemble allows the musicians to legitimize specific musical interests. The ability to play music becomes a form of cultural capital used to form symbolic boundaries against non-musicians. The players’ interests in early music are defined and they like to identify how early music is different from Classical or Modern music. Their interests in performing early music coincide with other specific interests such as Paleo-biology or Middle High German linguistics. The search for the uncommon seems like efforts to be exclusionary. The rehearsals become the only setting for most of the musicians to discuss aspects of recorder playing. Within the rehearsal space, members gesture while playing, speak about instruments and techniques, and comment on the challenges of the music to share expertise. Although playing well could be the most effective way of displaying expertise, efforts are made verbally to save face.