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Crossover: boundaries, hybridity, and the problem of opposing cultures

Crossover: boundaries, hybridity, and the problem of opposing cultures
Crossover: boundaries, hybridity, and the problem of opposing cultures
Classical crossover is a term regularly used but not yet adequately defined. This
thesis attempts to redress this imbalance through a study of the relationships
between high and low musical cultures. Starting from the separation of highbrow
and lowbrow, the concepts of genre and musical taste are considered in relation to
their connections to social hierarchies, leading to an analysis of what happens
when they hybridise. Sociological scholarship, cultural criticism and contemporary
musicology are combined to offer insights into ways in which we can control music,
and ways in which music can control us, with particular emphasis on the field of
classical crossover. Case studies reflecting issues of aesthetic preference,
celebrity and image, promotion and marketing, and expanding demographic
access feature as part of a broader examination of the benefits and drawbacks of
cross-cultural collaborations.

This thesis clearly shows that generic affinity no longer defines either audience
identity or social status, and that musicology's ideas of public reception, informed
by social theory, are no longer relevant. It proposes that crossover indicates music
that crosses boundaries of public reception, and that these boundaries can be
unconsciously or deliberately manipulated. It recognises a need to keep pace with
social change, and a need to reevaluate the separation of classical, popular, and
non-Western cultures, both in musicology and in other humanities disciplines.
Llewellyn, Elizabeth
137956b8-e421-4bcf-9ef8-88ce0cc5407b
Llewellyn, Elizabeth
137956b8-e421-4bcf-9ef8-88ce0cc5407b
Nicholls, David
03b203c2-f929-441a-88b7-8af9d5211270

Llewellyn, Elizabeth (2010) Crossover: boundaries, hybridity, and the problem of opposing cultures. University of Southampton, School of Humanities, Doctoral Thesis, 206pp.

Record type: Thesis (Doctoral)

Abstract

Classical crossover is a term regularly used but not yet adequately defined. This
thesis attempts to redress this imbalance through a study of the relationships
between high and low musical cultures. Starting from the separation of highbrow
and lowbrow, the concepts of genre and musical taste are considered in relation to
their connections to social hierarchies, leading to an analysis of what happens
when they hybridise. Sociological scholarship, cultural criticism and contemporary
musicology are combined to offer insights into ways in which we can control music,
and ways in which music can control us, with particular emphasis on the field of
classical crossover. Case studies reflecting issues of aesthetic preference,
celebrity and image, promotion and marketing, and expanding demographic
access feature as part of a broader examination of the benefits and drawbacks of
cross-cultural collaborations.

This thesis clearly shows that generic affinity no longer defines either audience
identity or social status, and that musicology's ideas of public reception, informed
by social theory, are no longer relevant. It proposes that crossover indicates music
that crosses boundaries of public reception, and that these boundaries can be
unconsciously or deliberately manipulated. It recognises a need to keep pace with
social change, and a need to reevaluate the separation of classical, popular, and
non-Western cultures, both in musicology and in other humanities disciplines.

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More information

Published date: March 2010
Organisations: University of Southampton

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 169873
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/169873
PURE UUID: 59cc0b94-9ee3-4384-aa2e-66c519aec8e5

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Date deposited: 23 Dec 2010 14:36
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:22

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Contributors

Author: Elizabeth Llewellyn
Thesis advisor: David Nicholls

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