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Papers by Samantha Bassler

Research paper thumbnail of ‘That suck’d the honey of his music vows’: Disability studies in early modern musicological research

postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of "But You Don’t Look Sick": Dismodernism, Disability Studies and Music Therapy on Invisible Illness and the Unstable Body

Invisible illness poses a unique problem vis-a-vis disability and society, since invisible illnes... more Invisible illness poses a unique problem vis-a-vis disability and society, since invisible illness does not present itself outwardly and does not easily mark a person as having a disability. Using Lennard Davis's understanding of dismodernism as a guide, this essay explores the cognitive dissonance of invisible illness and instability in the body, examining the juxtaposition of disability studies and music therapy using the unstable and invisible difference of the body as a case study. The purpose of the essay is to propose a meeting ground between disability studies and music therapy, and suggest further avenues for working together to promote greater understanding and compassion for persons living with invisible illness.

Research paper thumbnail of "But You Don't Look Sick": A Survey of Scholars with Chronic, Invisible Illnesses and their Advice on How to Live and Work in Academia

Books by Samantha Bassler

Research paper thumbnail of Music, Myth and Story in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

by Katherine Butler, Samantha Bassler, John MacInnis, Jason Stoessel, Tim Shephard, Férdia J Stone-Davis, Erica Levenson, Amanda Eubanks Winkler, Jamie Apgar, Sigrid Harris, and Aurora Faye Martinez

Myths and stories offer a window onto medieval and early modern musical culture. Far from merely ... more Myths and stories offer a window onto medieval and early modern musical culture. Far from merely offering material for musical settings, authoritative tales from classical mythology, ancient history and the Bible were treated as foundations for musical knowledge. Such myths were cited in support of arguments about the uses, effects, morality, and preferred styles of music in sources as diverse as theoretical treatises, defences or critiques of music, art, sermons, educational literature, and books of moral conduct. Newly written literary stories too were believed capable of moral instruction and influence, and were a medium through which ideas about music could be both explored and transmitted. How authors interpreted and weaved together these traditional stories, or created their own, reveals much about changing attitudes across the period.

Looking beyond the well-known figure of Orpheus, this collection explores the myriad stories that shaped not only musical thought, but also its styles, techniques, and practices. Moreover, music itself performed and created knowledge in ways parallels to myth, and worked in tandem with old and new tales to construct social, political, and philosophical views. This relationship was not static, however; as the Enlightenment dawned, the once authoritative gods became comic characters and myth became a medium for ridicule. This collection provides a foundation for exploring myth and story throughout medieval and early modern culture, and facilitating further study into the Enlightenment and beyond.

Research paper thumbnail of ‘That suck’d the honey of his music vows’: Disability studies in early modern musicological research

postmedieval: a journal of medieval cultural studies, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of "But You Don’t Look Sick": Dismodernism, Disability Studies and Music Therapy on Invisible Illness and the Unstable Body

Invisible illness poses a unique problem vis-a-vis disability and society, since invisible illnes... more Invisible illness poses a unique problem vis-a-vis disability and society, since invisible illness does not present itself outwardly and does not easily mark a person as having a disability. Using Lennard Davis's understanding of dismodernism as a guide, this essay explores the cognitive dissonance of invisible illness and instability in the body, examining the juxtaposition of disability studies and music therapy using the unstable and invisible difference of the body as a case study. The purpose of the essay is to propose a meeting ground between disability studies and music therapy, and suggest further avenues for working together to promote greater understanding and compassion for persons living with invisible illness.

Research paper thumbnail of "But You Don't Look Sick": A Survey of Scholars with Chronic, Invisible Illnesses and their Advice on How to Live and Work in Academia

Research paper thumbnail of Music, Myth and Story in Medieval and Early Modern Culture

by Katherine Butler, Samantha Bassler, John MacInnis, Jason Stoessel, Tim Shephard, Férdia J Stone-Davis, Erica Levenson, Amanda Eubanks Winkler, Jamie Apgar, Sigrid Harris, and Aurora Faye Martinez

Myths and stories offer a window onto medieval and early modern musical culture. Far from merely ... more Myths and stories offer a window onto medieval and early modern musical culture. Far from merely offering material for musical settings, authoritative tales from classical mythology, ancient history and the Bible were treated as foundations for musical knowledge. Such myths were cited in support of arguments about the uses, effects, morality, and preferred styles of music in sources as diverse as theoretical treatises, defences or critiques of music, art, sermons, educational literature, and books of moral conduct. Newly written literary stories too were believed capable of moral instruction and influence, and were a medium through which ideas about music could be both explored and transmitted. How authors interpreted and weaved together these traditional stories, or created their own, reveals much about changing attitudes across the period.

Looking beyond the well-known figure of Orpheus, this collection explores the myriad stories that shaped not only musical thought, but also its styles, techniques, and practices. Moreover, music itself performed and created knowledge in ways parallels to myth, and worked in tandem with old and new tales to construct social, political, and philosophical views. This relationship was not static, however; as the Enlightenment dawned, the once authoritative gods became comic characters and myth became a medium for ridicule. This collection provides a foundation for exploring myth and story throughout medieval and early modern culture, and facilitating further study into the Enlightenment and beyond.