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The soundscape as the transformatrice in some Dene songs and stories

  • Jasmine Spencer EMAIL logo
From the journal Semiotica

Abstract

In this article, I theorize the soundscape of Dene “myth”—stories and songs that are both philosophically and literally true—by defining an interpretive template for listening actively to these ecologically and spiritually powerful expressions. I offer two central and interlinked concepts for figuring the soundscape: (1) narrative revitalization and (2) animal grammar. Together these concepts describe the power of animal stories to live: and to enable life. As a key premise of my analysis, I accept Dene “myth” as true.


Corresponding author: Jasmine Spencer, Dixie State University, St. George, Utah, E-mail:

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Published Online: 2020-12-07
Published in Print: 2021-01-27

© 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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