American Culture Studies Ph.D. Dissertations
Title
Space Oddities for the Age of Space Tourism
Date of Award
2009
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
American Culture Studies/Communication
First Advisor
Donald McQuarie (Committee Chair)
Second Advisor
Ellen Berry (Committee Member)
Third Advisor
Jeremy Wallach (Committee Member)
Fourth Advisor
Lynn Pearson
Abstract
This research focuses on musical representations of space in the context of the nascent space tourism industry. The argument contextualizes music as a political practice, one that conceptually constructs spaces and thus could intervene in the colonization of space as produced, largely discursively so far, by transnational entertainment corporations. I specifically focus on the musical texts "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, "Rocketman" by Elton John, and "Space is the Place" by Sun Ra as examples of interventions and revisions of dominant space discourse. Methodologically, the production and reception processes of popular music are used as a template for generating analyses of how particular musical texts might intersect with other culture industry productions such as space tourism. The research concludes that popular music has the capacity to help keep space open for multiplicity, diversity, equity, and, if need be, resistance.
Recommended Citation
Lupro, Michael, "Space Oddities for the Age of Space Tourism" (2009). American Culture Studies Ph.D. Dissertations. 25.
https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/acs_diss/25