M Gillian Carrabré is a PhD candidate in Musicology at the University of Western Ontario, with a focus on Canadian rave music and culture. A graduate of Mount Royal University (Performance Diploma), McGill (BMus in Violin), and The University of Ottawa (MMus in Violin), Gillian also enjoys a professional career as an orchestral musician and electronic violinist. Her dissertation topic “Music Sounds Better With You: Methods of Self-Expression in the Toronto Rave Scene” has led to speaking engagements at numerous conferences across North America including MUSCAN, Stony Brook University, Ncounters, and IASPM Canada. Gillian is devoted to fostering a modern, inclusive classroom and uses active learning techniques to engage students in academic conversations. She has held previous positions as an instructor of Music History at Brandon University, and as a guest lecturer at Western University on the topics of women in jazz and writing for music students.

WRDS 150A

Research Area: Mental Health and Self-Expression in the Arts

Artists have long struggled with their mental health. Among them, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Van Gogh and Michael Jackson. The theme of this section of WRDS 150 is mental health and self-expression in the arts. We will examine articles from a range of disciplines, including musicology, theory, art, literature, music therapy. How do scholars consider the topic of mental health across these diverse fields of artistic discourse? How do musicians navigate the creation of art while dealing with mental illness? And how do we write about these issues as budding academics? Through the artistic work of William Shakespeare, Hector Berlioz, Avicii, Edvard Munch, Chuck Palahniuk, Linkin Park, Oscar Wilde and others, students will develop an understanding of the effects of mental health on the output of art and vice versa. Using the lens provided by our theme, students will learn to apply modern research techniques, think critically, and compose relevant academic papers in Chicago Style, the primary writing style in musical discourse. The classroom will embrace an inclusive mentality, cultivate respect among colleagues, and allow space for creativity.

WRDS 150B

Sustainability

Students will analyze and practice academic writing and research techniques through the lens of sustainability. Concepts such as farming and food sources, energy, recycling, and up-cycling, among others will be the focus of six assigned articles culminating in a final project. The course will provide a platform to learn about existing sustainability efforts, to parse-out creative solutions to prominent issues in our biosphere, and to engage with the academic community as budding researchers.