Can this be a thesis to work on?

[kasim]

Hello,

 

I am currently finishing my undergraduate degree in France, in musicology. I was curious to know whether the following could be accepted as framework for a PhD thesis: "Christianity in Richard Wagner's Parsifal".

 

I am aware this seems more musicological, but actually I feel it will have very little to do with music, eventhough being a musician will definitely be a great help. Wagner as a composer has at least 10 published articles which deal much more with philosophy than anything even close to music. And of course seldom has one not heard of his controversial views.

 

Should one have a definite and precise idea of what they will do in their statement of purpose?

 

Thank you very much,

Kaz

[isostheneia]

The idea doesn't seem inherently unphilosophical to me, but it's not the sort of thing that's typically done in philosophy of music (at least to my knowledge). Questions pertaining to, for instance, how meaning is conferred on musical pieces, the relation between temporality and music (as opposed to atemporal art forms), or the role of concepts in the experience of music, seem to be more commonly discussed in philosophy of music than the views of particular musicians. So I suppose I don't see what would make your idea more philosophical than musicological, but then again I don't know very much about what you would be planning on writing.

 

In terms of a statement of purpose, the advice I've frequently heard is not to tell an adcom what you want to say in your thesis, although you certainly want to give them an idea of what you're interested in working on. Most people's interests and views change in graduate school, and adcoms want "teachable" students. I've only heard this in the context of American schools, though, so it's possible that it works differently in other countries.

[kasim]

I appreciate your response very much. I find the aforementioned subject more related to philosophy, mainly due to the person Richard Wagner was. Not only did he have a comprehensive worldview, perception of art and how it should be, of culture, of people, religion, politics and as we all know, "races" etc, but he actually wrote extensively about them. That's why I think the matter will require years and years of reading, researching and writing. The very fact of his writing extensively, sets him apart from other composers who would often be subject to study in a musicology department. Put aside the role he played, or they made him play in the Third Reich.

 

In regards with what you explained, about how music is studied within philosophy and aesthetics, can I deduce then that music-related topics other than this can be the subject of one's doctoral dissertation?

[isostheneia]

No doubt Wagner's work is an interesting topic capable of supporting plenty of work. As for what topics are acceptable for a dissertation in aesthetics/philosophy of music, I'm afraid I'm just not the most knowledgeable person, as it's not my field of study. I could perhaps confirm with decent reliability a topic that would be acceptable ("Does music present a challenge for Kant's aesthetics?"), but I wouldn't feel confident saying that a particular topic isn't acceptable.

 

Perhaps try emailing a professor or two who works on aesthetics and whose work looks interesting/relevant. They would certainly know better than I. Also, here's a link to the philpapers page for papers in philosophy of music: http://philpapers.org/browse/philosophy-of-music. This should give you some ideas for the sorts of things people do these days in philosophy of music.

[kasim]

Thank you very much, it is all very helpful.