In this essay I examine George Aperghis’ process-based compositional thought in the score and performance practice of Retrouvailles, with a focus on the non-hierarchical and simultaneous use of interdisciplinary elements. I demonstrate how Aperghis sets up the complex dramaturgy of superimposed, suggestive narratives in this work as a case-study of...
This dissertation explores mid-twentieth century US stand-up comedy recordings and how they elaborate upon definitions of the avant-garde in theatre and performance studies. Weaving theories of comedy, aesthetics, radical performance, and sound studies, I argue for the reconceptualization of the avant-garde as an intellectual impulse outside of the parameters of...
This dissertation examines the impact of sound on the African literary imagination since the 1970s. I posit the sonority of postcolonial African writing in order to draw out the relatively ignored but remarkably rich stylistic innovations and political interventions oriented around sound. While the orality–textuality debate in African literary studies...