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Prof Abigail Gardner

Professor Of Cultural Studies

I work on music (video, music documentary, age, gender). I produce community media and film. I am currently working on an Erasmus+ project on digital storytelling.

Biography

I am Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Gloucestershire. My key interests are in music, gender and ageing.

I am writing ‘Listening, Belonging and Memory’ (Bloomsbury, 2023) and have published ‘Ageing and Contemporary Female Musicians’ (2019, Routledge), Aging Popular Music across Europe (Routledge, 2019 with Ros Jennings), PJ Harvey and Music Video Performance (Ashgate, 2015), co-author and editor (with Ros Jennings) of Rock On: Women, Ageing and Popular Music (Ashgate, 2012).

I have led 3 European funded projects on digital storytelling, media literacy and migration and am involved in an AHRC project, ‘Music for Girls: Feminist Epistemologies of Popular Music’. I am Associate Editor of the Journal of The International Association of the Study of Popular Music.

Qualifications

  • Tripos Part: Japanese, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge,, 1986
  • BA (Hons): Japanese, SOAS, University of London, 1988
  • MSocSci: Cultural Studies, University of Birmingham, 1999
  • PhD: Cultural Studies, University of Gloucestershire, *

Awards

2009 – Winner of University of Gloucestershire Public Engagement award for ‘Synagogue Lane’, a DVD of memories from Kindertransport survivors resident locally.

Membership of professional bodies

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Member of IASPM

Members of MeCCSa

Teaching & Research

Teaching

MD5324 Music and Sound Studies

MD6216 Major Project

Research

Professor Gardner writes on music and ageing, gender and identity and produces community film and media. Key publications include ‘Ageing and Contemporary Female Musicians’ (Routledge, 2019)’ Aging and Popular Music in Europe’ (Routledge, 2019) co-authored with Ros Jennings, ‘PJ Harvey and Music Video Performance’ (Routledge, 2015) and’Rock On: Women, Ageing and Popular Music’ (Routledge, 2012).

She has led an Erasmus + European project, called ‘Mapping the Music of Migration’, which explored the use of music with migrants and refugees, www.mamumi.eu. Her practice involves digital storytelling and she works in interdisciplinary teams offering that service, with experience on Heritage Lottery, British Academy and AHRC funded projects.

Publications

More publications from Prof Abigail Gardner can be found in the Research Repository.

External responsibilities

Subject for media interview

Women in music

Ageing and music

Music documentaries

Community media

Digital storytelling