Rethinking Settler States of Mind and Re(-)Cognition Through Scenes of Cross-Cultural Listening
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-25-2020 1:30 PM Sounding Unsettlement: Rethinking Settler States of Mind and Re(-)cognition through Scenes of Cross-Cultural Listening Ryan Ben Shuvera, The University of Western Ontario Supervisor: Sliwinski, Sharon, The University of Western Ontario A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Theory and Criticism © Ryan Ben Shuvera 2020 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Musicology Commons Recommended Citation Shuvera, Ryan Ben, "Sounding Unsettlement: Rethinking Settler States of Mind and Re(-)cognition through Scenes of Cross-Cultural Listening" (2020). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 7208. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/7208 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract In this dissertation I consider how listening to music produced by Indigenous peoples might convince settler listeners to surrender settler states of mind. I focus on the elements of settler colonialism that are exemplified in and challenged by the experiences of listening to music produced by Indigenous peoples. I focus on these aesthetic encounters as a way of exposing the everyday presence and power of settler states of mind and, more importantly, exploring how settlers might go about rebuilding states of mind through these moments of aesthetic surrender that are spurred by embodied experiences of sound. My project builds on the work of writers, theorists, and musicians such as African American writer James Baldwin, Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, writer, and artist Leanne Simpson, and Stó:lō scholar Dylan Robinson. I think about what it means to listen cross-culturally in the context of ongoing settler colonialism in North America (Turtle Island) and increased rhetoric around “reconciliation” in response to the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) in 2015. I speak to the intimate level of listening to music from across cultures in this dissertation so that settlers might begin to engage in a critical self-reflection necessary for the rebuilding of settler states of mind—a reflection that involves a sense of surrender that requires settlers to learn how to participate in new worlds opened and led by various Indigenous peoples and nations. ii Keywords Settler colonialism; Unsettlement; Indigenous Resurgence; Decolonization; Listening; Aesthetic Surrender; A Tribe Called Red; Tanya Tagaq; Jeremy Dutcher; James Baldwin; Nirvana; Frances Densmore; popular music studies; sound studies; musicology. iii Summary for Lay Audience In this dissertation I start by considering what it means for non-Indigenous people to listen to music produced by Indigenous people and begin to critically reflect on the music, lyrics, and conditions of the artists. I push this analysis further by considering how listening to music produced by Indigenous people might encourage a self-reflective listening or an “aesthetic surrender” amongst non-Indigenous audiences. The surrendered elements are what I am calling “settler states of mind.” Settler states of mind are the ideas, ideals, and ways of thinking involved in settler colonial identities—reinforced through physical acts and ways of speaking—that persuade and allow some non- Indigenous people to believe that they are the rightful “owners” and beneficiaries of the land and resources on Turtle Island (North America). The rights of Indigenous peoples are often devalued, ignored, removed, or violently attacked in attempts to protect and promote settler identities. I consider an aesthetic surrender relating to these states of mind to be an early part of a process of unsettlement; that is, moving beyond a life governed by the values and beliefs tied to settler colonialism. This includes surrendering ideas and ways of thinking that devalue and attempt to eradicate Indigenous ways of life. I challenge non-Indigenous readers to reflect on how everyday moments in their lives support these brutal and discriminatory ways of thinking and being. I turn to the music produced by Indigenous peoples and the opportunity to listen to these performances as avenues and opportunities to learn to listen differently. I turn to music as an example of everyday encounters with the reproduction, negotiation, and dismantling of settler states of mind. I turn to these moments with the hope that learning to listen differently might lead to more significant social, political, cultural, and economic change. iv Land Acknowledgement During my time as a PhD student at the Centre for the Study of Theory and Criticism at Western University I lived and worked in London, Ontario. London is situated on the land of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lunaapewak, and Attawandaron peoples and has long-standing relationships with three First Nations communities including the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, the Oneida Nation of the Thames, and the Munsee Delaware Nation. I include this territorial and community acknowledgement as part of a commitment to respect the land and sovereignty of these nations and peoples, including the ways they know and understand the world. I am a settler scholar and I continue to navigate what this means in the 21st century on Turtle Island. As empty as land acknowledgements can be at this point in history, they do serve a purpose. I am indebted to the guidance of Indigenous students, staff, and faculty at Western University including Candace Brunette (Faculty of Education) and Chantelle Richmond (Faculty of Social Science) for the structure of this acknowledgment. I am also indebted to the work of Leanne Simpson, in particular Simpson’s discussion of land acknowledgements in As We Have Always Done.1 1 Leanne Simpson, As We Have Always Done, (Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2017): 64. v Acknowledgments Thanks to Sharon Sliwinski, my supervisor, for taking on this project and guiding me through this process. I am still “Ryan with the Blue Jays hat,” but I have learned so much about writing and the academic world through your insight and generosity. I greatly appreciate your willingness to tackle this project with me. I am grateful for the opportunities I have had to face challenges with you and learn from your work ethic and kindness. Thank you to the examining committee for the feedback, insight, and willingness to critically engage with this project. Thank you to the external examiner Dr. Dylan Robinson for continuing to push the project further, and to Dr. Norma Coates, Dr. Joel Faflak, and Dr. Kevin Mooney for your committed engagement and constructive criticism. Thank you to the Chair, Dr. Antonio Calcagno, for your kindness and ongoing support. Thank you to Pauline Wakeham for your feedback and insight. You challenge me in healthy ways and continue to push me to bring out the best version of my work. Thank you to Keir Keightley for taking on the work of being involved in this project including reading significant parts of this dissertation and providing important feedback. Thanks to my parents, David and Karen Shuvera, who are endlessly supportive and still ask so little in return. I love you both. A heartfelt thank you to Courtney Harper. It is no secret that without you this would not have been a possibility. Thank you for your love and patience. Thank you for having lunch with me most days and for letting me unwind with countless Leafs, Jets, Raptors, and Jays games all year long. I am lucky to get to live life with you and hope that I help you be your best the way you help and encourage me to. I love every minute we have spent on the couch, on the road, and on the floor with Dickens. Love you. vi Thanks to my sisters, Kaitlin and Cassidy Shuvera. We rely on each other and challenge each other and that seems to be the best kind of sibling relationship. Thank you and love you both. Thank you to Elaine Shuvera. Your love and support help keep me strong. This dissertation is dedicated to the memory of Bohdan (Ben) Shuvera. I often wonder if you would have liked this. Let me know. Thank you to the Harpers—Randy, Angela, Tyler, and Haley—for their continued support, encouragement, and acceptance. Thank you to Mandy Bragg and the staff and students at Indigenous Services at Western. You welcomed me as a writing tutor and showed me what it means to care for each other in academics and in life. Thank you to Melanie Caldwell for keeping my academic life in line. Thank you to other faculty members at the Theory Centre and beyond for fielding my questions, dealing with my introvertedness, and reading my work. Thanks to Todd Dufresne for piquing my interest in this whole world of thinking and writing for a life, introducing me to this program, fielding my questions about academic life, writing letters, and checking in along the way. Thank you to Vidya Natarajan for your support and kindness and for giving me an opportunity to teach. Thank you to the musicians discussed in this dissertation and to those that have shared their work with me throughout my life. Your work is what got me into this and what pushes me to think differently and go to different places. Thank you for your songs, liner notes, album covers, interviews, music videos, and guidance. vii Thanks to my brothers Jeff Mountain and Matt Wishart, Daniel Wilson-Carrie and Dan McIntosh, and Dylan Vaughn. You guys keep me together and I thank you all for the good times along the way. Here’s to many more. Thank you to my friends and family that have supported me throughout this process.