These essay questions should be approached as traditional academic essays. Take care to
avoid the pitfall of an overly ‘journalistic’ approach. If you haven’t already done so, start
reading some theoretical sources from the reading list, especially Discographies.
Choose one of the following questions:
1. With reference to the shift from analogue to digital technologies, critically assess changing
notions of what the ‘authentic aura’ of DJing is.
2. Why is the body important in discussions of DJ culture?
3. What is the significance of disco in the history of DJ culture?
4. Why is music so significant in intergenerational conflict?
5. Why was Theodor Adorno so critical of popular music, do you agree with him and how could
these debates shed light on the positives and negatives of electronic dance music?
6. Sampling and remixing disrupt traditional models of intellectual property. Explain and assess the
significance of this disruption within DJ Cultures.
7. Does the concept of ‘moral panic’ still explain media attacks on musical subcultures, or is it past
its ‘sell by date’?
8. If you had to choose between ideas of utopia and dystopia to provide the key concept for
understanding clubbing, which would you pick, and why?
9. Can dance music culture offer convincing alternatives to mainstream gender politics?
10. ‘This is my church’ is a famous dance music lyric. What is the relevance of theories of religion
and spirituality for the understanding of dance music cultures?
