Date of Award

5-2025

Degree Type

Report

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

Committee Chair(s)

Jeannie Banks Thomas (Committee Chair)

Committee

Jeannie Banks Thomas

Committee

Afsane Rezaeisahraei

Committee

Joe Kinzer

Abstract

Music across cultures and throughout history is a tool for engaging with the supernatural. It shares similarities with apotropaic magic. Through research and ethnographic fieldwork, I argued that even in modern times, individuals use music as an apotropaic remedy for fear and negative emotions. These remedies reflect strategies identified by Jeannie Thomas, including companionship, magical substance, neutralization, and displacement. Modern apotropaic music regulates emotions, re-establishes personal relationships, creates safe environments, and provides a means of control.

Contributors used music to combat various negative feelings, selecting genres that matched their emotional needs. In the absence of family and friends, music reaffirmed close relationships and provided solace during difficult times. It comforted, validated feelings, and served as an expressive outlet. Music could alter the tone of a place or event, offering grounding amid chaos and helping individuals regain control.

Contributors indicated that music is transportive and requires a sense of place: they “went to” music to access it, found it removed them from their problems or provided a sense of presence, and metaphorically summoned others for support. Music proved effective for relief, allowing for emotional expression and attuning emotions and situations. Contributors reported physical relief through music. This blurred the distinction between scientific and magical interpretations, with both perspectives reinforcing one another. Ultimately, contributors framed music as an effective form of protection and coping, transforming negative emotions into positive experiences, reinforcing that emotions should be acknowledged and validated instead of suppressed.

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