The Role of Music in the Integration of Cultural Minorities
Author(s):
Richard Parncutt
Angelika Dorfer
Publication Year:
2011
Type:
book section
Journal/Book Title
Music and the Mind: Essays in honour of John Sloboda
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Editor(s):
Irène Deliège
Jane Davidson
Pages:
379-412
Volume:
Issue:
Abstract:
Social, cultural, and political integration involves multiple interactions between and among migrant minorities and the indigenous majority. Measures of integration include frequency of contact, feeling of belonging, and mutual acceptance of other cultural groups. Intercultural exchange and the construction of new cultural identities can both promote and hinder integration. The literature on integration addresses language skills, education, occupation, income, (un)employment, and social capital. What is the role of culture, including music? Twenty-four participants in a musicology course unit interviewed 54 migrants living in Graz, Austria. The interviewees came from Albania, China, Egypt (Copts), Iraq (Kurds), Italy, Nigeria, and Serbia. They spoke about music in their everyday lives, music they perform, their cultural identity and social contacts, the music, customs and traditions of their group, their favourite CDs, and the relationship between music and integration. Qualitative analysis yielded theses such as: migrants identify emotionally with the music of their culture, which helps them to feel at home in a new environment. Music is easier to understand across cultures than language. Music promotes intercultural contact by arousing curiosity and creating a social atmosphere.
Citation (Chicago Author-Date):
Parncutt, Richard, and Angelika Dorfer. 2011. “The Role of Music in the Integration of Cultural Minorities.” In Music and the Mind: Essays in Honour of John Sloboda, edited by Irène Deliège and Jane Davidson, 379–412. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/book/4085/chapter-abstract/145804874?redirectedFrom=fulltext.