Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Graduate School Collection WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship 2008 Approaching popular music in the field of English Christopher Reid Kerr Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Kerr, Christopher Reid, "Approaching popular music in the field of English" (2008). WWU Graduate School Collection. 5. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/5 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Graduate School Collection by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. APPROACHING POPULAR MUSIC IN THE FIELD OF ENGLISH: CRITICAL BOUNDARIES, REMEDIATION, AND PERFORMANCE THEORY A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Western Washington University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Christopher Reid Kerr May 2008 iv Abstract In light of current disciplinary shifts toward digital media and multi-modal textual analysis, this thesis explores how the field of English can take up popular music for scholarly study. Through a blend of text and context, the first chapter maps a methodology to discuss central zones of analysis which include audience, author, composition, media, and cultural context – fluid zones of analysis which hold textual relationships. The second chapter isolates two forms of media, the audio recording and live performance, to discuss specific features of authorship, authenticity, audience rituals, and remediation. As an application of the theory, chapter three explores the artistic craft of popular musician Bruce Springsteen to survey his literary voice which enacts strong bonds between artist, text, and audience.