Friday 23rd of June

9.30am - 12.30pm / 1.30pm - 4.30pm

 Dr Iain Taylor & Dr Sarah Raine

Dr Iain Taylor is a Senior Lecturer in Music at University of the West of Scotland. His research is concerned with the changing materialities of music and media forms, formats and spaces. Iain is co-managing editor and lead designer of Riffs: Experimental Writing on Popular Music, a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal which provides a space for experimental ways of thinking and writing about popular music research.

Dr Sarah Raine is a Lecturer in Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds. Sarah’s published research considers issues of gender and generation, authenticity and identity, and the construction of the past and present in popular cultural scenes and industries. Sarah is also the co-Managing Editor of Riffs.

About this Session

This workshop, brought to you by the SGSAH Cultural & Museum Studies Discipline+ Catalyst and hosted by the editorial team of Riffs: Experimental Writing on Popular Music, will support participants in creating a fanzine publication derived from their respective PhD theses. The workshop will start with a three-hour writing workshop exploring how the zine aesthetic and format can help doctoral researchers to re-think and re-articulate the findings and arguments of their thesis in alternative forms and formats. Following the workshop, there will be optional writing groups running throughout the day for any who would like accountability and/or support in developing their piece. Participants will have until the end of the day to submit their piece for inclusion in a digital special issue of Riffs which will be published via the journal’s website.

By the end of this session, participants will:

• Have considered the ways in which alternative production formats can shape (and re-shape) ideas and arguments
• Have developed skills in writing (and re-writing) research materials for non-academic and alternative audiences
• Have produced a short body of written work outlining the ideas, arguments and value at the core of their doctoral project

This session will be of most interest to doctoral researchers who are approaching the end of their empirical data gathering and analysis, or in the early stages of writing up their thesis. It will also be of interest to those doctoral researchers who are keen to think about how the ideas and arguments contained within their thesis might be articulated and presented in alternative forms and formats.

No previous experience or knowledge necessary, however, participants should be at a point in their PhD journey where they have a body of work to draw upon. It would be useful for participants to familiarise themselves with the Riffs website before the session – www.riffsjournal.org – particularly the zine "special issues” (available in the “Issues” dropdown menu).

Ideally participants should have access computer / iPad access, although paper and pens will be provided for those wishing to take a more analogue approach!

Participants may choose to engage with cut and paste techniques, but this will not be mandatory.

Event contact: iain.taylor@uws.ac.uk 

Click here to register

First published: 11 May 2023