Acquired skills in project management, project reports, fulfilling human ethics requirements
Research skills training in audio software (Logic Pro, DaVinci Resolve)
Discussed grant writing with Prof Till and developed plans for ERC Advanced Grant & AHRC grant applications
Teacher training:
• Presented two guest lectures in the Dep of MDA:
• 11 Nov 2022. The Vibe: Electronic Dance Music and Culture (Popular Music Studies – UoH MMT)
• 29 Nov 2022. The Transnational Culture of Psytrance (Explorations in World Musics – UoH MMT)
• Evaluated Ritchie Hawtin’s Scholarship applicants
• Marking 2023/24 Final Year Project diss
• Completed 2 Training courses: Supervision Fundamentals For New Supervisors of PGR Degrees (both Centralised & School training)
• Communications with prospective PhD students.
Chaired Dancecult Conference (DC23) at the UoH, 19-20 October 2023. UoH Dept of MHA graduate students participated.
Performed a multi-sited ethnography at Black Rock City Nevada (Aug 22), Boom (July 22), and Ozora (July 23),
Performed 22 interviews
Co-guest edited 2 peer review journal issues:
• I edited (with Sarah Pike) "Event Horizons: Transformational Events, Cultures and Movements" of Journal of Festive Studies # 5, Nov 2023.
• I edited (with Trace Reddell) "Psychedelica and Electronica," Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture, 15(1) Nov 2023.
3 peer review journal articles:
• St John, G. "Transfestive Horizons: An Introduction" to "Event Horizons: Transformational Events, Cultures and Movements" in Journal of Festive Studies # 5, 2023, 11-40.
• St John, G., and B, Vitos, “Burnerverse: The Borderland, Midburn, and the Global Event Culture of Burning Man,” Journal of Festive Studies # 5, 2023: 41-67.
• St John, G. "The Voice of the Apocalypse: Terence McKenna as Raving Medium," Dancecult, 15(1) 2023, 61-91
Co-authored editor’s intro:
• Trace Reddell and Graham St John, "Introduction" to "Psychedelica and Electronica," Dancecult, 15(1) 2023, 4-12.
Chair of the DC23 Dancecult Conference “After the Pandemic” UoH, 19-20 Oct, 2023 (40 delegates).
1 conference keynote:
• 2022 (21 June) “Apocalyptic Raver: McKenna as Medium,” IASPM Benelux Student Conference, University of Amsterdam
4 invited presentations:
• 2023 (20 April) “Terence McKenna: Apocalyptic Poet and Raving Medium,” B23 / Breaking Convention conference. University of Exeter.
• 2023 (12 March). “Meta-Liminal: The Resilient Vibe in World Electronica,” Tanzquartier (TQW) Vienna.
• 2022 (9 Oct) “Raver of the Apocalypse: Terence McKenna As Medium.” Occulture Conference, Berlin.
• 2022 (23 June). “Super-liminality: Researching the Vibe” Amsterdance Colloquium, Musicological Department, University of Amsterdam.
2 conference presentations:
• 2023 (Nov) “The Mirrorball and the Meta-Liminal: The Vibe in Electronic Dance Movements,” AAA/CASCA, Vancouver.
• 2023 (Oct 19) “Mirrorballs and Meta-Liminality: A Rough Guide to the Vibe in Global Dance Culture.” DC23, UoH, UK.
Outreach:
• Presented “Event Horizons” project at “Burning Nerds” Salon – Black Rock City, Nevada Aug 2 2022.
• Curated speakers programme at Chambok House Ozora Festival, Hungary July-Aug 2023
Websites:
•
https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/persons/graham-st-john(öffnet in neuem Fenster) •
https://www.edgecentral.net(öffnet in neuem Fenster)Through the above listed (and projected – see 3) dissemination activities, the project enables the first comprehensive survey of “meta-transformational” events. The project makes a significant contribution to understanding the role of electronic dance music in “transfestive” events. Its insights on event sonicities provide key heuristics for cultural anthropology, studies in religion, and ethnomusicology, while offering critical insights for event management.
