{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/139691"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/139691","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"A Sociotechnical Network Analysis of Bluegrass Practitioners and Instruments: Competing Definitions, Motivating Authenticities, and Tradition-Respecting Innovations","abstract":"This study applies a sociotechnical network analysis based on Actor Network Theory (ANT) to the bluegrass musical community. Three definitional emphases are identified within bluegrass; these emphases structure and bound the network based on instrumental practices, historical progression, or the community. The study shows how bluegrass practices, such as festivals and jams, temporarily restructure the network, creating and maintaining connections among actors. Further, the study shows how authenticity, conceptualized either as personal expression or as adherence to tradition, motivates actors toward these definitional emphases and connects to larger philosophical and cultural themes beyond bluegrass. The project also applies this network analysis to the instruments of bluegrass. It examines the banjo's history before bluegrass, showing how actors attempted to disentangle the banjo from its previous networks and place it into new musical and cultural networks, making changes both to the material instrument and to its meanings, thereby making possible the position it assumed in bluegrass. The project concludes by examining the place of vintage instruments in the bluegrass network and the need for boundary-crossing instrument makers.","abstract_html":"This study applies a sociotechnical network analysis based on Actor Network Theory (ANT) to the bluegrass musical community. Three definitional emphases are identified within bluegrass; these emphases structure and bound the network based on instrumental practices, historical progression, or the community. The study shows how bluegrass practices, such as festivals and jams, temporarily restructure the network, creating and maintaining connections among actors. Further, the study shows how authenticity, conceptualized either as personal expression or as adherence to tradition, motivates actors toward these definitional emphases and connects to larger philosophical and cultural themes beyond bluegrass. The project also applies this network analysis to the instruments of bluegrass. It examines the banjo's history before bluegrass, showing how actors attempted to disentangle the banjo from its previous networks and place it into new musical and cultural networks, making changes both to the material instrument and to its meanings, thereby making possible the position it assumed in bluegrass. The project concludes by examining the place of vintage instruments in the bluegrass network and the need for boundary-crossing instrument makers.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Carroll, William Anthony"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Science and Technology Studies","degree_department":"Science and Technology Studies","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Abbate, Janet E."],"committee_members":["Prieto-Nanez, Fabian","Collier, James H.","Olson, Philip R."],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-11-19","date_published":"2025-11-19","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:29Z","subjects":["bluegrass community","authenticity","tradition","banjo","Actor Network Theory","Science and Technology Studies","Sound Studies","bluegrass music"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44802"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:44802","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/139691","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Abbate, Janet E."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Prieto-Nanez, Fabian","Collier, James H.","Olson, Philip R."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Science and Technology Studies"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Carroll, William Anthony"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-11-20T09:00:24Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-11-20T09:00:24Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025-11-19"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Science and Technology Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["bluegrass community","authenticity","tradition","banjo","Actor Network Theory","Science and Technology Studies","Sound Studies","bluegrass music"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:44802"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/139691"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study applies a sociotechnical network analysis based on Actor Network Theory (ANT) to the bluegrass musical community. Three definitional emphases are identified within bluegrass; these emphases structure and bound the network based on instrumental practices, historical progression, or the community. The study shows how bluegrass practices, such as festivals and jams, temporarily restructure the network, creating and maintaining connections among actors. Further, the study shows how authenticity, conceptualized either as personal expression or as adherence to tradition, motivates actors toward these definitional emphases and connects to larger philosophical and cultural themes beyond bluegrass. The project also applies this network analysis to the instruments of bluegrass. It examines the banjo's history before bluegrass, showing how actors attempted to disentangle the banjo from its previous networks and place it into new musical and cultural networks, making changes both to the material instrument and to its meanings, thereby making possible the position it assumed in bluegrass. The project concludes by examining the place of vintage instruments in the bluegrass network and the need for boundary-crossing instrument makers."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["How does a long-standing musical community persist and maintain its distinctiveness? How is the community structured and what are its boundaries? What is the purpose of the community—what does it produce? Individuals and communities are enmeshed in technological and social contexts. These contexts can be thought of as heterogeneous networks consisting of various elements including, but not limited to, technologies, social structures, meanings, and practices. This project examines how participants in the heterogeneous network constituting the social technology of bluegrass music create, maintain, and dispute its structure. Members of the community compete to define bluegrass in terms of instrumental practices, relationships to historical musicians, or community preferences. The study examines how the community gains new members and maintains its connectedness through jams, festivals, and similar practices. The study also details musical artists' engagement with two concepts of authenticity, which focus on either personal expression or maintaining the tradition. Further, the study examines bluegrass instruments through the history of the banjo, attachment to vintage instruments, and the balance of innovation and tradition among instrument makers."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Sociotechnical Network Analysis of Bluegrass Practitioners and Instruments: Competing Definitions, Motivating Authenticities, and Tradition-Respecting Innovations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Abbate, Janet E."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Prieto-Nanez, Fabian","Collier, James H.","Olson, Philip R."],"dc:contributor.department":["Science and Technology Studies"],"dc:creator":["Carroll, William Anthony"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-11-20T09:00:24Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-11-20T09:00:24Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025-11-19"],"dc:description.abstract":["This study applies a sociotechnical network analysis based on Actor Network Theory (ANT) to the bluegrass musical community. Three definitional emphases are identified within bluegrass; these emphases structure and bound the network based on instrumental practices, historical progression, or the community. The study shows how bluegrass practices, such as festivals and jams, temporarily restructure the network, creating and maintaining connections among actors. Further, the study shows how authenticity, conceptualized either as personal expression or as adherence to tradition, motivates actors toward these definitional emphases and connects to larger philosophical and cultural themes beyond bluegrass. The project also applies this network analysis to the instruments of bluegrass. It examines the banjo's history before bluegrass, showing how actors attempted to disentangle the banjo from its previous networks and place it into new musical and cultural networks, making changes both to the material instrument and to its meanings, thereby making possible the position it assumed in bluegrass. The project concludes by examining the place of vintage instruments in the bluegrass network and the need for boundary-crossing instrument makers."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["How does a long-standing musical community persist and maintain its distinctiveness? How is the community structured and what are its boundaries? What is the purpose of the community—what does it produce? Individuals and communities are enmeshed in technological and social contexts. These contexts can be thought of as heterogeneous networks consisting of various elements including, but not limited to, technologies, social structures, meanings, and practices. This project examines how participants in the heterogeneous network constituting the social technology of bluegrass music create, maintain, and dispute its structure. Members of the community compete to define bluegrass in terms of instrumental practices, relationships to historical musicians, or community preferences. The study examines how the community gains new members and maintains its connectedness through jams, festivals, and similar practices. The study also details musical artists' engagement with two concepts of authenticity, which focus on either personal expression or maintaining the tradition. Further, the study examines bluegrass instruments through the history of the banjo, attachment to vintage instruments, and the balance of innovation and tradition among instrument makers."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:44802"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/139691"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["bluegrass community","authenticity","tradition","banjo","Actor Network Theory","Science and Technology Studies","Sound Studies","bluegrass music"],"dc:title":["A Sociotechnical Network Analysis of Bluegrass Practitioners and Instruments: Competing Definitions, Motivating Authenticities, and Tradition-Respecting Innovations"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Science and Technology Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:20:29Z"}