Introduction into Musical Performance Studies

In the course of the so-called ‘performative turn’ in the humanities, a discourse on issues of musical performance research has been established, which in many ways ties in with concepts from ethnology, theatre studies, phenomenology, anthropology and cognitive science, as well as incorporating sociological communication and interaction theories. The research interest focuses on performances as social processes of aesthetic and cultural meaning construction. The questions and dimensions of performance that are addressed and studied in detail are extremely broad: they range from the fundamental distinction between forms of performance in a transcultural perspective (Turino) to physical or material constituents of performative practice (Cook), from staged concepts of identity (Auslander) to the constitution of ideal communities (Small). The seminar discusses the main research questions of this discourse and introduces basic concepts such as performativity and ritual. In this context, methods of performance analysis will be tested using examples from different performance cultures.

08.04.-08.07.2019, Mo 2-4 p.m., Humboldt University, Am Kupfergraben 5, R 501