Rock On, Professor! University Offering Ph.D. in Heavy Metal

Summer’s almost halfway over and, soon, kids and adults will be heading back to school, academies, and universities. But if you’re not sure what you want to major in, and you love hard rock, you might want to consider relocating to Australia. Kerrang is reporting that The University of Newcastle is offering scholarships to into a Ph.D. program that focuses on, among other things, heavy metal music!

The University of Newcastle in Australia is offering a scholarship of $27,596 per annum (assumedly that’s AUS dollars, meaning $19,232 USD or £15,139) to two domestic students and one International student, to study social geographies across a series of cultures. The subjects being studied are Homelessness and Mutual Aid, Vegan Geographies, Unschooling and The Possibilities of Childhood, and of course, Heavy Metal Geographies.

Here are the issues the program will tackle:

  • What sorts of lyrical themes have Australian Metal bands adopted? Are these culturally and geographically unique to the continent?
  • What is the relationship between the cultural evolution of Heavy Metal in Australia and colonialism?
  • Is Heavy Metal in Australia largely a white phenomenon? What has been the response to diversity within the scene?
  • How is gender negotiated within the Metal scene in Australia?
  • What sort of reputation do Heavy Metal fans have within the Australian context? Does this impact the types of spaces that Heavy Metal fans can utilize?
  • How has the geography of Australia in proximity to other scenes contributed to or hindered its cultural uptake?
  • What is it about Australian Heavy Metal that makes it distinctive?

Higher learning never sounded so sweet! [Imagine Raging Guitar Solo HERE!]

Would you like (or love) to study heavy metal Down Under? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also carry on the convo with me personally on Twitter @josh_millican.

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