Date of Award
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Clark, Maribeth
Area of Concentration
Music
Abstract
For my thesis I have created a portfolio of music adapting N.K. Jemisin’s Hugo Award winning novel, The Fifth Season. I introduce my compositional work through a ludomusicological approach to musical worldbuilding and composition informed by postcolonial theory, trauma theory, and narratology. My main goals in this writing are to showcase the incredible literature of N.K. Jemisin, an author of speculative fiction who shifted a field too often centered on white male power fantasies forward within her work which makes space for postcolonial theories, queer characters and relationships, and the trauma of marginalization. I also aim to elucidate my compositional choices and reasons for adapting this novel into a video game soundtrack. In service to that goal, I highlight why video games offer unique opportunities for engagement with music and narratives that deconstruct systems of oppression.
Recommended Citation
Roberts, Hugh, "Breaking Earth: A Musical Adaptation of N.K. Jemisin’s Groundbreaking Novel, The Fifth Season, as a Video Game Soundtrack." (2021). Theses & ETDs. 6501.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/6501