Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Music
Document Type
Dissertation
Abstract
This dissertation explores the multifaceted role of music in women’s protests, emphasizing how it serves as a unifying and rallying tool in the fight against inequality. By delving into the interdisciplinary realms of music theory, sound studies, and women’s and gender studies, this work highlights how women’s protest composers utilize musical texts and content to turn their music into a tool to inspire change. This dissertation investigates the musical structures and harmonic innovations in suffrage movement music, examining how suffragettes with varying musical knowledge engaged with music to further their cause. The suffragette music analyses combine text analysis, harmonic analysis, and sociopolitical observations, focusing on composers in America and England. The next chapter explores music from movements protesting violence against women by delving into how composers use intricate rhythmic and metric structures to amplify messages of solidarity and resilience while creating a shared experience through community engagement and synchronizations of physical movements. It explores music and chanting from America, Chile, and England performed live at protests. The next chapter analyzes music supporting reproductive rights in America, spanning approximately fifty years, and tracing songs released around critical moments in the fight for reproductive rights. It explores the impact of legislative changes on women’s rights advocacy and the role of music in expressing and advocating for reproductive freedom, focusing on the music surrounding Roe v. Wade’s passing and overturn. This dissertation concludes by returning from national and global social movements for women’s rights to local social movements. It presents ethnographic research from grassroots demonstrations in Louisiana, examining the sonography of these protests and the causes that led to the need for mass action. It explores how when a community is impacted by the systemic issue of gender-based oppression, such as a woman being murdered, social movements mold to address those specific instances. Overall, this dissertation aims to contribute to the interdisciplinary understanding of music’s role in political activism by documenting how women’s protest music shapes political narratives, influences legal frameworks, and empowers women in their fight for equality.
Date
7-16-2024
Recommended Citation
Vogel, Jillian, "Quiet No More: An Analysis of Women's Protest Music" (2024). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 6569.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/6569
Committee Chair
Olivia Lucas