1. “The Forest Quiet, Where is its’ song?” A Musical Approach To Environmental Academia
- Author
-
Salmasi, Neeka
- Subjects
- music, environment, storytelling, culture
- Abstract
It was my first semester at SEAS when a professor presented the sobering idea that “as many as 50% of [academic] papers are never read by anyone other than their authors, referees and journal editors”, and that 90% of published papers are never cited (Eveleth, 2014). I began to reflect on this finding, and my own relationships with individuals outside of environmental academia. Indeed: rarely, if ever, have any of my family or friends outside of the academic bubble read any primary academic literature — let alone environmental literature. Upon observing what my friends and family readily consume, I noticed that music was a universal medium that moved not only my community, but communities of people all over the world. I began to wonder whether pursuing a creative practicum, which used music as a medium to spread environmental messages, may be an interesting way to complete my academic coursework at SEAS. I pitched this idea to my advisor, Kyle Whyte, then applied with the Duderstadt Center to record a music album whose lyrics and messages mirror much of the themes covered in my classes at SEAS. The goals for going this route with my degree were twofold: firstly, recording music at the Duderstadt would provide me with valuable and highly transferable skills for my future career. These included storytelling, professional collaboration, management skills, and budget mapping. Secondly, I wanted to help show that art can, and must be, a legitimate academic pursuit in the field of environmental sciences. In order to complete this written portion of the practicum, I have included the following: 1. A literature review whiwhich discusses the powerful role of storytelling by the fossil fuel industry in international climate governance spaces, 2. A section on the theoretical framework which grounds this work, called “Music as a powerful Tool for Union and Social Change”, 3. A chapter on learning objectives and skills gained during this process, 4. An analysis of my lyrics which relates them back to themes we discuss in my coursework at SEAS, 5. A behind the scenes section which gives the reader a “backstage look” into the recording studio experience, and finally, 6. Links to the music itself. I hope that this practicum might increase the resource base that SEAS students have access to and help build the pathway for other creatively oriented SEAS students to incorporate creative praxis into their academic work.
- Published
- 2023