How concepts of love can inform empathy and conciliation in intercultural community music contexts
Author(s):
Brydie-Leigh Bartleet
Publication Year:
2019
Type:
journal article
Journal/Book Title
International Journal of Community Music
Publisher
Editor(s):
Pages:
317-330
Volume:
12
Issue:
3
Abstract:
This article explores how concepts of love, in particular compassionate love, can provide a way of promoting empathy and conciliation in intercultural community music contexts. Drawing on the work of Deborah Bird Rose and bell hooks, it considers how love is first and foremost a verb, a participatory emotion and a social practice that can both inform and underpin efforts at building connections with others through music. The article then seeks to ask two thorny and critical questions that can arise when community musicians conceptualize their intercultural music-making through the lens of love. These questions point towards the oftentimes irreconcilable complexities, cultural politics and legacies of colonization that underpin peace-building and conciliation efforts. To illustrate and unpack these ideas, the article draws on stories and experiences of a ten-year intercultural music collaboration with Warumungu and Warlpiri musicians in Central Australia.
Citation (Chicago Author-Date):
Bartleet, Brydie-Leigh. 2019. “How Concepts of Love Can Inform Empathy and Conciliation in Intercultural Community Music Contexts.” International Journal of Community Music 12 (3): 317–30. https://doi.org/10.1386/ijcm_00003_1.