Vita

Profile 

Dr Élise G. M. Gayraud graduated in 2016 with a PhD in Ethnomusicology from Durham University (UK). Her thesis, entitled "Towards an ethnography of a culturally eclectic scene: Preserving and transforming Folk music in 21st-century England", explores recent changes in the folk music scene in England. She carried out extensive ethnographic fieldwork, including participant-observation in music-making communities, and semi-structured interviews of professional and amateur folk musicians. The aim was to elicit musicians’ points of view about the music they perform and their own compositions. Based upon a wide variety of concepts, such as identity, tradition, culture and globalisation, her analysis discusses new conceptualisations and redefinition of traditions, global perspectives, and intensified transmission of traditional cultures.

During her doctoral work, she taught languages, philosophy and research skills across different departments at Durham, qualified as a fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and was appointed Editor-in-Chief of Kaleidoscope, the interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journal of the Institute of Advanced Studies (2014-15). More recently, she worked as a teaching fellow within the Ludwig-Uhland-Institut für Empirische Kulturwissenschaft, at Eberhard-Karls-Universität, Tübingen (Germany), and collaborated with York St John University (UK) and KU Leuven (Belgium).

She contributed to numerous international conferences and is keen to keep developing cross-disciplinary research and outputs about the socio-cultural role of music-making and cultural hybridisation. Her current project focuses on Ethno-World initiatives and their significance in peace-building through international music exchanges. It aims to understand musical and political impacts of globalisation on traditional music-making within the Ethno movement. Of benefit to cultural policy makers as well as musical communities (music educators, event organisers and Ethno participants), this research project will highlight and critically analyse the impact of international grass-roots initiatives increasing intercultural awareness.

Her broader research interests include ethnomusicology, music and dance communities, formal and informal music education, “world music”, globalisation and the deterritorialisation of music and dance traditions.

 

Education

2010 - 2016: AHRC-funded PhD in Music, Durham University, UK (Completed: May 2016) "Towards an ethnography of a culturally eclectic music scene: preserving and transforming folk music in 21st century England”

2009 - 2010: Interdisciplinary Master of Arts in “Culture and Difference”, Durham University, UK

2006 - 2008: Studied 3 separate Undergraduate degrees in History, Geography and Politics at the Université Paul Valéry, Montpellier III, France

2006: Baccalauréat in Sciences, at the Französiches Gymnasium, Berlin, Germany

 

Recent Positions

04/2021 - present: University Siegen

2019 - present: Research affiliate, Katholieke Universiteit (KU) Leuven, Belgium  

2019: Research Associate on the Ethno Research project, University of York St John, UK

2015 - 2017: Teaching Fellow, Ludwig-Uhland-Institut für Empirische Kulturwissenschaft, Eberhard Karls Universität, Tübingen, Germany (Teach@Tübingen exchange programme)

2010 - 2015: Part-time teacher, Durham University, UK