The Life and Legacy of Stan Hugill offers the first comprehensive and critically engaged study of Stan Hugill (1906–1992), a figure whose name has become synonymous with the shanty and whose influence over maritime music scholarship, performance practice and heritage discourse remains profound. Often described as ‘the last shantyman’, Hugill occupies a singular position in the modern folk imagination: a collector, performer, author and seafarer whose 1961 publication, Shanties from the Seven Seas, is still regarded as the definitive text on the genre. However, despite his canonical status, Hugill himself – his authority, his methodology and the cultural meanings of his legacy – has largely eluded scholarly analysis. This dissertation addresses that gap by examining not only what Hugill preserved, but how, why and to what effect.
PhD Music
University of Aberdeen
October 2021 - June 2024
Supervisors: Dr. Jonathan Hicks & Dr. Thomas McKean
Thesis: The Life and Legacy of Stan Hugill
MSt Music (Musicology)
University of Oxford
October 2020 - July 2021
Supervisor: Dr. Thomas Hodgson
Thesis: Shanties and the problem of authenticity
Discussion of problems relating to the authenticity of performed, notated and recorded folk music is prevalent throughout 20th and 21st century critical folk literature, particularly with respect to the Anglo-American folk revival of the mid-20th century. Historically, shanties have represented a sub-category of folk culture, however, the study of shanties raises its own unique set of issues surrounding the question of authenticity. Specific analysis of shanties gives rise to problems of authenticity that are separate from similar issues in ‘folk music’ more generally. This dissertation explores the problem of authenticity within performance, written notation and audio recording of sea shanties by considering its specific origins, repertoire, the collectors who gathered and framed the shanty tradition, and changing socio-cultural factors influencing the repertoire's presentation and reception.
BA (Hons) Philosophy & Music (Joint Honours)
Royal Holloway, University of London
September 2017 - July 2020
Supervisor: Prof. Daniel Whistler
Thesis: In The Interpretation of Dreams was Freud correct in neglecting the religious significance of the dream-manifestations that he describes?
This dissertation challenges Sigmund Freud’s dismissal of religion as a mere “illusion” and argues instead for its relevance and value within psychoanalytic discourse. It proposes that religion can and should be taken seriously as part of a psychoanalytic explanation of psychical phenomena. By integrating religious thought into Freudian psychoanalytic theory, it becomes possible to formulate a more nuanced, evidence-based, and comprehensive account of the human mind. Far from being mutually exclusive, this work contends that religion and Freudian psychoanalysis are complementary; when combined, they offer a richer and more persuasive framework for understanding unconscious processes. To support this claim, the dissertation presents an original experiment designed to test a key Freudian theory through a religious lens. This empirical approach aims to demonstrate that religious concepts can yield meaningful insights into psychical dynamics and thereby enhance the credibility of psychoanalytic interpretations. The conclusion reached is that Freud’s neglect of religion limited the scope and explanatory power of his theories. Had he engaged seriously with religious perspectives, his conclusions could have been more robust and far-reaching.
