Music, Longing and Belonging: Articulations of the Self and the Other in the Musical Realm

With contributions from musicologists, historians, sociologists, anthropologists and literary scholars, this book provides an interdisciplinary perspective on how different modes of musical sociability - ranging from opera performances to collective singing and internet fan communities - inspire "imagined communities" that not only transcend national borders, but also challenge the boundaries between the self and the other. While the relationship between music and nationhood has been widely researched, few comparative and transnational studies on music and identity exist. The main focus of this volume, therefore, is on forms of musical belonging not bound by national identity, which take place in contexts of appropriation and displacement. The essays collected here address different modes of musical self-expression through the art of others and frame music as a unique medium of desire, which not only channels the experience of belonging during times of social and political upheaval, but also induces its opposite - non-belonging, detachment and dissent. The book is organized into four sections, each focusing on different aspect of musical experience: music as a site of cultural appropriation, music as a conduit of transnational identities, its role in diaspora and displacement, and, finally, music as a means of negotiating gendered identities.
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