Live W. Ellefsen

Live W. Ellefsen is a Professor at the University of Inland Norway, affiliated with the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies under the Faculty of Teacher Education and Pedagogy. She holds a PhD in Music Education from The Norwegian Academy of Music (2014). Her research focuses on music education practices as sites of subjectivation and negotiations of knowledge/power, employing discourse theory, gender studies, and sociology of music education. She leads the department’s Music Education and Cultural Studies research group and co-chairs the Nordic Network for Research in Music Education.

She is a core member of the NORHOP project (2023–) exploring hip hop’s role in Norwegian social politics and cultural democratization, and previously contributed to the DYNAMUS project (2018–2022) on musical upbringing in welfare states. Her teaching spans music didactics, scientific methodology, cultural theory, and performance studies at bachelor, master, and PhD levels. Additional roles include active piano performance and choral conducting.

Research Themes:

• Discourse analysis in music education policy
• Gender normativity and queer pedagogy
• Cultural democratization through hip hop
• Genre theory and music education practices

Current Projects:

• NORHOP: Hip Hop’s social and cultural implications (2023–2027)
• Nordic Network for Music Education Research (2022–)

Teaching & Supervision:

Guides students across music education, philosophy of science, and cultural studies. Teaches at all academic levels, emphasizing critical theory and interdisciplinary approaches.