A Shaman, a Sherpa, and a Healer: a Post-Intentional
A SHAMAN, A SHERPA, AND A HEALER: A POST-INTENTIONAL PHENOMENOLOGY OF SONGWRITING by BRIAN E. KUMM (Under the Direction of Corey W. Johnson) ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of songwriting. Through a series of in depth interviews, three songwriters provided rich descriptions of their lived experiences with the phenomenon. Post-intentional phenomenology was used as the primary guiding theoretical framework for this study, which negotiated the tenets of both phenomenology and poststructuralism. Songwriting was described in terms of portaling, everesting, and gravitating-levitating and was revealed as a complex phenomenon of cathartic and transcendent experiences. The findings highlight the need for unstructured, expressive, and artistic leisure, which can be transformative in times of personal or social unrest. INDEX WORDS: Songwriting, Post-intentional phenomenology, Creativity, Leisure A SHAMAN, A SHERPA, AND A HEALER: A POST-INTENTIONAL PHENOMENOLOGY OF SONGWRITING by BRIAN E. KUMM B.S., University of West Georgia, 1999 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2011 © 2011 Brian E. Kumm All Rights Reserved A SHAMAN, A SHERPA, AND A HEALER: A POST-INTENTIONAL PHENOMENOLOGY OF SONGWRITING by BRIAN E. KUMM Major Professor: Corey W. Johnson Committee: Janette R. Hill Diane M. Samdahl Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia December 2011 iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Dianne Kendall Hickly (mom number 2). March 1, 1947 – July 23, 2011 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I sincerely want to say thank you to everyone who contributed to the successful completion of this thesis.
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