Discussions surrounding music and ethical responsibility bring to mind arguments about legal owne... more Discussions surrounding music and ethical responsibility bring to mind arguments about legal ownership and purchase. Yet the many ways in which we experience music with others are usually overlooked. Musical experience and practice always involve relationships with other people, which can place limitations on how we listen to and act upon music. In Music and Ethical Responsibility Jeff Warren challenges current approaches to music and ethics, drawing upon philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’s theory that ethics is the responsibilities that arise from our encounters with other people. Warren examines ethical responsibilities in musical experiences including performing other people’s music, noise, negotiating musical meaning, and improvisation. Revealing the diverse roles that music plays in the experience of encountering others, Warren argues that musicians, researchers, and listeners should place ethical responsibility at the heart of musical practices.
The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: Annual Review, 2007
Jeff Warren teaches in the Music and Fine Arts departments at Trinity Western University. His mai... more Jeff Warren teaches in the Music and Fine Arts departments at Trinity Western University. His main teaching and research interests include 20th century art, jazz and popular music, the application of continental philosophy (in particular Heidegger, Gadamer, Levinas, Derrida) to ...
... I could do that: dee dee-dee dee dee dee dee, dee dee dee -- Marge: That's 'Mary Had ... more ... I could do that: dee dee-dee dee dee dee dee, dee dee dee -- Marge: That's 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'. Homer: OK, then, this: doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo -- Marge: That's the same thing; you just replaced 'dee's with 'doo's. Homer: D'oh!4 ...
European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 2005
It is clear that Levinas’ ethical concepts have the ability to encourage psychology with its emph... more It is clear that Levinas’ ethical concepts have the ability to encourage psychology with its emphasis on the Other – allowing the Other to speak on her own terms without appropriating her into the same. Levinas reminds psychology of the importance of the Other. But Levinas’ ethics is also very problematic in application. His focus on the impossibility of understanding
This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their rela... more This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their relationship to recreational landscapes on unceded Indigenous territory. Using original qualitative research, the authors detail three rhetorical strategies settler Canadians employ to negotiate their place within geographies of belonging informed by Indigeneity and recreational colonialism: ignorance, ambivalence, and acknowledgement. In Canada’s post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission climate, the discourses settlers use to situate themselves vis-à-vis landscapes and Indigenous people contribute to the conditions of possibility for meaningful movement toward a more equitable existence for all. This work points to a growing need to problematize the seemingly apolitical landscapes of recreation as a prerequisite toward meaningful reconciliation.
This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their rela... more This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their relationship to recreational landscapes on unceded Indigenous territory. Using original qualitative research, the authors detail three rhetorical strategies settler Canadians employ to negotiate their place within geographies of belonging informed by Indigeneity and recreational colonialism: ignorance, ambivalence, and acknowledgement. In Canada’s post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission climate, the discourses settlers use to situate themselves vis-à-vis landscapes and Indigenous people contribute to the conditions of possibility for meaningful movement toward a more equitable existence for all. This work points to a growing need to problematize the seemingly apolitical landscapes of recreation as a prerequisite toward meaningful reconciliation.
Verge: a journal of the arts and Christian faith, 2019
Full text accessed through the link
Through an analysis of the performances of contemporary worsh... more Full text accessed through the link Through an analysis of the performances of contemporary worship music, I argue that congregants perform both spiritual and ethical values. The article outlines a sort of annotated inventory of performative elements in contemporary worship music (CWM), attempting to open spaces for further investigation while making the argument that contemporary worship music articulates and shapes the values of those singing.
In the twenty-teens, music has been wrapped up in politics and ethics in several prominent events... more In the twenty-teens, music has been wrapped up in politics and ethics in several prominent events, including violent attacks at the Bataclan theatre in Paris and the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, and the profiling of musical listening habits in the French governments "stop jihadism " campaign. Significant scholarship exists on music and politics, and interest in music and ethical philosophy is growing. More work, however, is needed in theorizing the connections between music, ethics, and politics. In 1951, Heidegger's essay " Building Dwelling Thinking " lists the words in the title without punctuation in an attempt to show how these three terms are intertwined even though they are often considered separate. While these words and concepts are not interchangeable, each relies upon or invokes the other. My title structurally mirrors Heidegger's, and my aim here is to elucidate how music is intertwined with ethics and politics.
Text of conference keynote
We are surrounded by portrayals of wellness, from ‘Instagram influence... more Text of conference keynote We are surrounded by portrayals of wellness, from ‘Instagram influencers’ to diets to travel to activities aimed to fulfill human potential. In the context of wellness, the things we do expand into lifestyles and identities. The growth of outdoor recreation provides one example. In this presentation I focus on mountain biking, and in particular the ways that mountain biking is presented through musical multimedia. I argue that mountain biking films are co-constitutive of mountain biking experience. In other words, these films both reflect and inform the experiences of viewers. Here I examine the sonic elements of three film segments: Lifecycles (2010), Mother Earth (2018), and Return to Earth (2019). These films are indebted to Romantic ideals of nature and authenticity, yet these films and their music also portray athletic mastery at odds with such ideals. The sonic landscape of the films contributes to these tensions, yet music is often used to cover over tensions with the idealization of an escape from the everyday. Throughout the presentation, I argue that the analysis of mountain biking musical multimedia provides ways to reflect upon the tensions within contemporary concepts of wellness.
Discussions surrounding music and ethical responsibility bring to mind arguments about legal owne... more Discussions surrounding music and ethical responsibility bring to mind arguments about legal ownership and purchase. Yet the many ways in which we experience music with others are usually overlooked. Musical experience and practice always involve relationships with other people, which can place limitations on how we listen to and act upon music. In Music and Ethical Responsibility Jeff Warren challenges current approaches to music and ethics, drawing upon philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’s theory that ethics is the responsibilities that arise from our encounters with other people. Warren examines ethical responsibilities in musical experiences including performing other people’s music, noise, negotiating musical meaning, and improvisation. Revealing the diverse roles that music plays in the experience of encountering others, Warren argues that musicians, researchers, and listeners should place ethical responsibility at the heart of musical practices.
The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences: Annual Review, 2007
Jeff Warren teaches in the Music and Fine Arts departments at Trinity Western University. His mai... more Jeff Warren teaches in the Music and Fine Arts departments at Trinity Western University. His main teaching and research interests include 20th century art, jazz and popular music, the application of continental philosophy (in particular Heidegger, Gadamer, Levinas, Derrida) to ...
... I could do that: dee dee-dee dee dee dee dee, dee dee dee -- Marge: That's 'Mary Had ... more ... I could do that: dee dee-dee dee dee dee dee, dee dee dee -- Marge: That's 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'. Homer: OK, then, this: doo doo-doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo -- Marge: That's the same thing; you just replaced 'dee's with 'doo's. Homer: D'oh!4 ...
European Journal of Psychotherapy & Counselling, 2005
It is clear that Levinas’ ethical concepts have the ability to encourage psychology with its emph... more It is clear that Levinas’ ethical concepts have the ability to encourage psychology with its emphasis on the Other – allowing the Other to speak on her own terms without appropriating her into the same. Levinas reminds psychology of the importance of the Other. But Levinas’ ethics is also very problematic in application. His focus on the impossibility of understanding
This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their rela... more This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their relationship to recreational landscapes on unceded Indigenous territory. Using original qualitative research, the authors detail three rhetorical strategies settler Canadians employ to negotiate their place within geographies of belonging informed by Indigeneity and recreational colonialism: ignorance, ambivalence, and acknowledgement. In Canada’s post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission climate, the discourses settlers use to situate themselves vis-à-vis landscapes and Indigenous people contribute to the conditions of possibility for meaningful movement toward a more equitable existence for all. This work points to a growing need to problematize the seemingly apolitical landscapes of recreation as a prerequisite toward meaningful reconciliation.
This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their rela... more This article explores how White settler mountain bikers in British Columbia understand their relationship to recreational landscapes on unceded Indigenous territory. Using original qualitative research, the authors detail three rhetorical strategies settler Canadians employ to negotiate their place within geographies of belonging informed by Indigeneity and recreational colonialism: ignorance, ambivalence, and acknowledgement. In Canada’s post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission climate, the discourses settlers use to situate themselves vis-à-vis landscapes and Indigenous people contribute to the conditions of possibility for meaningful movement toward a more equitable existence for all. This work points to a growing need to problematize the seemingly apolitical landscapes of recreation as a prerequisite toward meaningful reconciliation.
Verge: a journal of the arts and Christian faith, 2019
Full text accessed through the link
Through an analysis of the performances of contemporary worsh... more Full text accessed through the link Through an analysis of the performances of contemporary worship music, I argue that congregants perform both spiritual and ethical values. The article outlines a sort of annotated inventory of performative elements in contemporary worship music (CWM), attempting to open spaces for further investigation while making the argument that contemporary worship music articulates and shapes the values of those singing.
In the twenty-teens, music has been wrapped up in politics and ethics in several prominent events... more In the twenty-teens, music has been wrapped up in politics and ethics in several prominent events, including violent attacks at the Bataclan theatre in Paris and the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, and the profiling of musical listening habits in the French governments "stop jihadism " campaign. Significant scholarship exists on music and politics, and interest in music and ethical philosophy is growing. More work, however, is needed in theorizing the connections between music, ethics, and politics. In 1951, Heidegger's essay " Building Dwelling Thinking " lists the words in the title without punctuation in an attempt to show how these three terms are intertwined even though they are often considered separate. While these words and concepts are not interchangeable, each relies upon or invokes the other. My title structurally mirrors Heidegger's, and my aim here is to elucidate how music is intertwined with ethics and politics.
Text of conference keynote
We are surrounded by portrayals of wellness, from ‘Instagram influence... more Text of conference keynote We are surrounded by portrayals of wellness, from ‘Instagram influencers’ to diets to travel to activities aimed to fulfill human potential. In the context of wellness, the things we do expand into lifestyles and identities. The growth of outdoor recreation provides one example. In this presentation I focus on mountain biking, and in particular the ways that mountain biking is presented through musical multimedia. I argue that mountain biking films are co-constitutive of mountain biking experience. In other words, these films both reflect and inform the experiences of viewers. Here I examine the sonic elements of three film segments: Lifecycles (2010), Mother Earth (2018), and Return to Earth (2019). These films are indebted to Romantic ideals of nature and authenticity, yet these films and their music also portray athletic mastery at odds with such ideals. The sonic landscape of the films contributes to these tensions, yet music is often used to cover over tensions with the idealization of an escape from the everyday. Throughout the presentation, I argue that the analysis of mountain biking musical multimedia provides ways to reflect upon the tensions within contemporary concepts of wellness.
The Pacific Northwest is home to some of the best mountain biking terrain in the world. Over the ... more The Pacific Northwest is home to some of the best mountain biking terrain in the world. Over the past ten years the sport has grown worldwide, in the process contributing significantly to local economies in the Sea to Sky region (North Vancouver, Squamish, Whistler, and Pemberton). The growth of the sport has also developed several mountain biking sub-disciplines marked by the aims of the activity, equipment, attire, gender performance, and relation to musical genre and usage. The aim of this presentation is to begin to map the field of music and mountain biking. Each connections between music and mountain biking involves performing and mediating relations with other people and the surrounding world. Several music/biking encounters could be investigated, and here I aim to locate some of these encounters and make some initial comments about themes for further investigation. One site of investigation is mountain biking films. Popular videos on pinkbike.com, a heavily trafficked mountain biking website now headquartered in Squamish, feature music ranging from high energy guitar based music to ambient electronic to folk music to Bon Iver to orchestral music. In each case, the music influences the formal elements of the film, as well as the relations presented between bicycle, mountain and forest, viewer, and featured rider or product. Readers of pinkbike.com are also highly engaged, and often some of the strongest opinions about a posted video respond to the sound/music. One popular video series entitled ‘Raw 100’ claims to present footage without effects or music, but features carefully edited field recordings that are edited to create seamless continuity in multi-camera or multi-take video editing. Another area to investigate is music while biking. Here context and positionality influences which sounds are desirable. For one rider music amplifies the experience or motivates exercise, but for another music interferes with the idea of escaping urban life. Sometimes sounds of particular bicycle parts are re-cast not as mechanical sounds but as sounds at one with the natural world. Others fetishize the sounds of particular bicycle components (such as Hope hubs) in manner parallel to the fetishization of the sound of Harley Davidson motorcycles. Yet at the same time the sounds of bikes are positioned in stark contrast to motorized vehicles such as dirt bikes, often taking the view that non-motorized vehicles facilitate a closer relationship with the landscape. Sounds made by bikes and their riders —whether mechanical sounds from the bicycle, music through speakers, or a singing bike rider —also play an often intentional signalling of human presence to others in the forest in hopes of reducing encounters with bears and cougars. Each inquiry into music and mountain biking opens into wider questions of how music participates in activity, leisure, concepts of the built world, and relations with others and the surrounding landscape.
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Through an analysis of the performances of contemporary worship music, I argue that congregants perform both spiritual and ethical values. The article outlines a sort of annotated inventory of performative elements in contemporary worship music (CWM), attempting to open spaces for further investigation while making the argument that contemporary worship music articulates and shapes the values of those singing.
We are surrounded by portrayals of wellness, from ‘Instagram influencers’ to diets to travel to activities aimed to fulfill human potential. In the context of wellness, the things we do expand into lifestyles and identities. The growth of outdoor recreation provides one example. In this presentation I focus on mountain biking, and in particular the ways that mountain biking is presented through musical multimedia. I argue that mountain biking films are co-constitutive of mountain biking experience. In other words, these films both reflect and inform the experiences of viewers. Here I examine the sonic elements of three film segments: Lifecycles (2010), Mother Earth (2018), and Return to Earth (2019). These films are indebted to Romantic ideals of nature and authenticity, yet these films and their music also portray athletic mastery at odds with such ideals. The sonic landscape of the films contributes to these tensions, yet music is often used to cover over tensions with the idealization of an escape from the everyday. Throughout the presentation, I argue that the analysis of mountain biking musical multimedia provides ways to reflect upon the tensions within contemporary concepts of wellness.
Through an analysis of the performances of contemporary worship music, I argue that congregants perform both spiritual and ethical values. The article outlines a sort of annotated inventory of performative elements in contemporary worship music (CWM), attempting to open spaces for further investigation while making the argument that contemporary worship music articulates and shapes the values of those singing.
We are surrounded by portrayals of wellness, from ‘Instagram influencers’ to diets to travel to activities aimed to fulfill human potential. In the context of wellness, the things we do expand into lifestyles and identities. The growth of outdoor recreation provides one example. In this presentation I focus on mountain biking, and in particular the ways that mountain biking is presented through musical multimedia. I argue that mountain biking films are co-constitutive of mountain biking experience. In other words, these films both reflect and inform the experiences of viewers. Here I examine the sonic elements of three film segments: Lifecycles (2010), Mother Earth (2018), and Return to Earth (2019). These films are indebted to Romantic ideals of nature and authenticity, yet these films and their music also portray athletic mastery at odds with such ideals. The sonic landscape of the films contributes to these tensions, yet music is often used to cover over tensions with the idealization of an escape from the everyday. Throughout the presentation, I argue that the analysis of mountain biking musical multimedia provides ways to reflect upon the tensions within contemporary concepts of wellness.