Sean
Davis

Sean Davis

Adjunct Professor, Music Theory

232, Swope Music Building 
SDavis2@wcupa.edu
youtube.com/c/drseansays
tiktok.com/@drseansays

Education

  • Ph.D., Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Music Theory
  • M.M., Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Music Theory
  • B.M., Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Composition

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Sean M. Davis received his Ph.D. in Music Theory from Temple University's Esther Boyer College of Music and Dance where he primarily studied with Michael Klein and Noriko Manabe. Dr. Sean's research interests include hermeneutic and social analyses of popular music, music in multimedia, video game music, and progressive music theory pedagogy. He has presented his research at regional and national conferences including the International Association for the Study of Popular Music (IASPM), the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic (MTSMA), and the Ann Arbor Symposium for Popular Music IV. In addition to his research and pedagogical interests, Dr. Sean also maintains music theory focused social media accounts on YouTube and TikTok.

Presentations and Publications

Osborn, Brad. 2017. "Interview Series: Everything in its Right Place." Interview by Sean M. Davis. IASPM-US Website, June 1, 2017. http://iaspm-us.net/interview-series-brad-osborn-everything-in-its-right-place/.

Topic Theory and Popular Music: Nostalgia and Sentimentality
Music Studies Colloquium (Temple University) – 2014

Topic Theory and Popular Music: Nostalgia and Sentimentality
Ann Arbor Symposium IV – 2015

Making Sense of Non-Coherent Narratives: Hypermetrical Grouping and Anacrusis in "15 Step" by Radiohead
Ann Arbor Symposium IV – 2015

Topic Theory and Popular Music: Nostalgia and Sentimentality
MTSMA 14th Annual Meeting – 2016

Identity and Rock Music: The Permanent Interruption as a Denial of Interpellation
Mannes Graduate Student Conference – 2017

When Identity Fails: Self-Discipline and Form in Radiohead
Music Studies Colloquium (Temple University) – 2017

When Identity Fails: Self-Discipline and Form in Radiohead
CUNY – Graduate Students in Music Conference – 2017

Deconstructing the Masculine: Constructions of Masculine Fragility in Three Songs from Radiohead's A Moon Shaped Pool
MTSMA 16th Annual Meeting – 2018

Deconstructing the Masculine: Radiohead's Embrace of Fragile Subjectivity
West Chester University Composition Seminar – 2018

The Real Deal: "Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief" as Symptom
West Chester University Composition Seminar – 2019

A Moon Shaped Pool: Subversion and Trauma in Radiohead
AMSMA Fall Meeting – 2019

Topic Theory and Game Music: Water Topics in Super Mario Bros.
West Chester University Composition Seminar – 2020

Assuming the Role: Texture, Groove, and Narrative Temporality in Chiptunes
IASPM-US Annual Conference – 2022

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