Richard Parncutt University of Graz, Austria The role of music in cultural integration

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Richard Parncutt University of Graz,
AustriaThe role of music in cultural
integration
MUSIC AND COGNITION On the contribution of John
Sloboda IRCAM, Paris, 23 January 2009
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Historical contextWhy is urban cultural
diversity increasing?

• Positive Technology transport, communications
• increasing international mobility
• globalisation of trade and commerce
• Negative Psychology greed, corruption, violence
• power
• human rights abuses, limited freedom of speech
• ? political refugees
• money
• tax havens, low development funding, rich-poor
  gap (Sachs, 2005)
• ? economic refugees
• conflict
• international and civil wars, coups
• ? refugees of violence
• energy
• increasing consumption ? more frequent storms and
  famines
• ? climatic refugees

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Global security and migration

• Global security is threatened by
• climate change
• competition for resources
• poverty
• militarisation
• (Abbott, Rogers Sloboda, 2007)
• All four factors also trigger migration

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Integration

• General definition
• all interactions among all groups
• majority migrant or indigenous
• minorities migrant and indigenous
• Advantages of integration
• quality of life
• economic/cultural productivity
• Kinds of integration
• social, cultural, political
• individuals, groups, cities

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Integration of individuals

• Language skills
• bilingualism, multilingualism
• Employment and income
• wage, hours, security
• Everyday independence
• social, political, cultural
• shopping, transport, administration
• Intergroup contact
• friends, acquaintances
• meetings, phone calls, events
• Feeling at home
• a combination of many positive factors
• lack of negative factors like discrimination

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Integration of a cultural group

• Acceptance by other groups
• intercultural knowledge
• lack of prejudice
• Frequency of intergroup contact
• e.g. intercultural marriage rate
• Structural integration
• representation and visibility in professions,
  public service, politics, NGOs
• stability, sustainability of those structures

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General sociology of integration

• Groups may be defined by
• country of origin, language, culture
• class, political allegiance, gender
• 6 operational definitions of integration
• ? violence
• ? crime
• ? conformity
• ? poverty
• ? discrimination
• ? tolerance
• (Fuchs, 1999)

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Integration of a multicultural city

• Independence of groups
• financial, political, social, cultural
• Equality of opportunity
• small differences in mean income
• Intergroup contact
• individual contacts
• commercial contacts, e.g. restaurants
• intercultural public events
• Intergroup knowledge
• interest in other groups
• lack of prejudice (visible, invisible)

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Research on integrationfocus on individual
integration

• Language skills
• Greenberg et al. (2001)
• Education, occupation, income
• Hou Balakrishnan (1991)
• Employment
• Gowricharn (2002)
• Social capital
• Jacobs Tillie (2004)
• Opinions, prejudices of majority
• Bobo Zubrinsky (1996)
• Relatively little research on role of culture

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Integration and identity

• Migrants adapt/reconstruct their identities
• acculturation
• revision of cultural orientation
• modification of traditions
• Auernheimer (1996)
• Thesis Once main pragmatic problems are solved,
  identity becomes primary concern
• (cf. Maslows 1943 hierarchy of psychological
  needs)
• Example familiarity of migrant children with
  old culture enhances self-esteem, ability to
  integrate
• (Hansson, 1990)

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Self-identity and self-esteem

• Self-identity who I am (long-term)
• Self-esteem evaluative aspect
• Both weakened by migration?
• Cant do everyday things
• Cant demonstrate expertise
• Feeling of loss of control
• psychological distress
• not feeling at home

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Blurring the boundaries

• Blurred dichotomies
• locals - immigrants
• integration - assimilation - hybridization
• settlers - guest workers
• migrants - their (grand-) children
• Multiple identities
• original culture
• new majority or mixed culture
• gender, profession, hobbies
• e.g. Turkish Austrian Muslim woman
• Transnational communities
• united by communication and travel
• (Castles, 2006 Wodak, 2008)

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Identity and music

• Music plays an important role in the
  negotiation, construction and maintenance of
  identities
• (MacDonald et al., 2009)
• Nations define themselves musically, e.g. to
  achieve freedom or unity (Folkestad, 2002), cf.
• Germany
• Aboriginal Australia
• Hybrid musical identities can be problematic
• Greek Cypriot children exposed to ambiguous,
  contradictory ideologies in music
• (Pieridou-Skoutella, 2007)

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Identity ? music

• Music reflects identity
• musicfunctions as a symbol of national or
  regional identity émigré communities sometimes
  clung tenaciously to their traditional music in
  order to preserve their identity in a foreign
  country. In todays world, deciding what music
  to listen to is a significant part of deciding
  and announcing to people not just who you want
  to bebut who you are.
• (Cook, 1998, p.4-5)
• Music constructs identity
• first, that identity is mobile, a process not a
  thing, a becoming not a being second,our
  experience of music of music making and music
  listening is best understood as an experience
  of this self-in-process
• (Frith, 1996, p. 109)

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Music and integrationa study of Turkish Germans
(Siegert, 2008)

• Maqam can promote integration on 3 levels
• Personal
• feeling at home, connecting past to present,
  developing personality
• Social
• promoting authentic personal relationships
  within/between groups
• overcoming prejudice, opening up
• Spiritual, universal
• connecting with the divine or the universe

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Music and integrationA study of 19 Stockholm
choirs (Pawlig, 2003)

• Mostly linked to schools and churches
• 2 choirs sang Gospel, 1 Sth Amer., 1 Turkish
  music
• no choir for the many Asian and African
  immigrants
• Conductors want to promote Swedish culture
• few regarded integration as a choir goal
• culture of singers barely influenced repertoire
• ? missed opportunities?

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Our approach

• What is the role of music in integration?
• A preliminary, pilot study

• Non-general conclusions
• non-representative sample
• confined to Graz
• Comparative approach
• research by outsiders
• qualitative analysis of interviews
• ethnomusicologically problematic

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Example

• Imagine a Turkish woman in Graz
• contact mainly with husband and two children
• limited contact with majority or other groups
• little knowledge of German language
• significant pragmatic difficulties hinder
  integration
• Listens to recordings of Turkish music
• feels sad, nostalgic
• ? therapeutic or counterproductive?
• Does music promote integration?

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Our method

• Semi-structured interviews
• musicology students ? Graz residents
• summary transcription by students
• Qualitative and quantitative analyses

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Participants

• Interviewers
• 24 participants in advanced musicology seminar
• in 7 groups
• Respondents
• 52 new Austrians from Albania, China, Egypt
  (Copts), Iraq (Kurds), Italy, Nigeria, Serbia
• sex 28 female 24 male
• age 17 to 53 mean 29
• years in EU 0.2 to 23 mean 8
• about 15 old Austrians (from Austrian families)

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Excluded from analysis

• 8 respondents -
• due to significant
• communication difficulties
• missing data

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Group differencesexamples hard to generalise

• Nigerians
• music seen as universal, promotes peaceful
  coexistence
• Copts
• music important for religion identity, but
  rather private
• Kurds Copts
• high degree of cultural self-organisation
• Chinese, Albanians, Italians
• low degree of cultural self-organisation
• Italians
• music important for identity although no
  integration problem
• Serbs
• music important for identity job, language for
  integration
• Indigenous Austrians
• relative disinterest in own (Austrian
  classical/folk) music

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Interviews Issues

• (Any) music in everyday life
• whatever situation they think of
• Own performance of (any) music
• for amateur or profi musicians
• Cultural identities
• simple or multiple
• Social contacts
• with whom, how often
• Favourite CDs
• any style at all
• Culture of own main cultural group
• music, customs, traditions
• Views on role of music in integration
• what could be done politically with music

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Quantitative analyses

• Profiles of individual respondents
• degree of integration
• importance of music
• years of regular musicking
• Method for 1, 2
• respondents did not rate directly
• we read transcripts and rated
• mean of several independent estimates

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Degree of integration

• Main criteria for raters
• How much contact between respondent and other
  groups (majority, other minorities)?
• To what extent does respondent feel at home in
  Graz?

1 very low 2 low 3 neutral 4 high 5 very high
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Degree of integrationdata from rater AD
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Importance of own musici.e. of music of own main
cultural group

• Main criteria for raters
• How often does respondent play or listen to own
  music?
• How important is own music for respondent?

1 very low 2 low 3 neutral 4 high 5 very high
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Importance of own musicdata from rater AD
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Importance of own music

• EXAMPLE VERY HIGH
• We have very many different instruments and
  directions in our traditional music we are all
  very proud of our music it is very beautiful.
• Respondent 7, Chinese, female, age 27, 4.5 yr in
  EU, 20 yr music, degree of integration 3
• EXAMPLE VERY LOW
• For me, music is mainly for entertainment and
  relaxation. Chinese music has no meaning for me
  and I dont listen to it.
• 6, Chinese, m, 19, 9, 0, 5

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Practical musicianship
no 0 years / dont play some lt10 years / as a
hobby professional gt10 years / as a profession
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Correlation analysis

• Degree of integration
• increases with duration of residence
• independent of importance of music
• independent of musical expertise
• ? no interesting quantitative findings

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Qualitative analysis

• Basis transcripts of interviews
• Hermeneutic formulation of theses
• formulate or revise (top-down)
• find quotes for against (bottom-up)
• repeat

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Contact

• Does more frequent contact for any reason
• lead to better integration?
• Thesis
• Music can help cultural groups to get to know
  each other
• You hear the music and immediately get an
  impression of what Albanians are like. That is
  quite different from reading about Albanians in
  the newspaper.
• 12, Albanian, f, 27, 5, gt2, 3

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Music and language

• Thesis
• Music is easier to understand across cultures
  than language.
• I think music is very important because music is
  a world language. Everyone can understand it.
• Respondent 28, Copt, male, 40 yrs, 17 yrs in EU
• I cant speak Italian but I like to listen to
  Italian music. I cant speak Turkish but I can
  listen to Turkish music.
• 26, Copt, m, 44, 17
• On the radio I prefer to listen to music than
  language (news, documentaries) because I dont
  understand the language very well.
• 8 Chinese, f, 20, 2, 16, 1

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Emotion

• Thesis
• Own music (music of ones own culture) is more
  emotional
• For
• There are so many songs in Albanian that could
  make me cry because the words are so sad.
• 11, Albanian, f, 23, 23, 4, 5
• When I hear songs about freedom fighters I start
  to cry.
• 25 Kurd, m, 45, 18, 0, 5
• Against
• Classical music is very emotional, I often get
  goose bumps pop music is emotional if the text
  goes well
• 2, Chinese, f, 21, 4, 10, 2

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Association

• Thesis
• Own music is strongly associated with other
  aspects of own culture
• For
• The music reminds me of the Kurds situation,
  their suffering, the beauty of the country.
• 36, Kurd, f, 25, 4, 0, 5
• Against
• But the music in Austria reminds me of my
  adolescence in Egypt, e.g. ABBA, Bonny M., Bee
  Gees, .. Tina Charles, I have them all on CD
• 26, Copt, m, 44, 17, gt1, 3

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Homesickness

• Thesis
• Own music can either increase or decrease
  homesickness
• I avoid listening to Albanian music when I have
  not been home for a while because it makes me
  homesick.
• 10, Albanian, f, 27, 7, 0, 4

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At home versus away

• Thesis
• Own music is more important when away from home
• The young people in Albania seem to avoid folk
  music. But when they are away from home they want
  you to send them CDs of folk music.
• 10, Albanian, f, 27, 7, 0, 4
• Austrians from local families were relatively
  uninterested in Austrian classical or folk music.

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Identity

• Thesis
• Local public display of own music strengthens own
  identity
• Referring to a concert of Albanian traditional
  music on Grazs main square
• The people stopped to look and were interested.
  Where do they come from? Oh, thats what its
  like in Albania! Aha, Albania is real and
  Albanians live right here among us in Graz.
• 12, Albania, f, 27, 5, gt2, 3

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Cultural freedom and identity

• Thesis
• Integration is promoted when minorities feel free
  to express their identity through their music.
• We play loud Albanian music. We go to an
  Albanian pub so we can be alone because we are so
  loud. When you are homesick and have not been
  home for a long time that is really nice.
• 10 Albanian, f, 27, 7, 0, 4

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Acceptance and self-esteem

• Thesis
• Low self-rated integration is associated with a
  belief that others do not like own music.
• The people here accept other music, but our
  music is very difficult (for prayer, meditative).
  Austria is a land of music, but I think they
  would find our music boring.
• 32, Copt, f, 49, 15, 10, 2

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Cultural opportunities

• Thesis
• Musicians feel more integrated when they can play
  their own music with others.
• Q What role does the music of your cultural
  group play in your everyday life?
• A At home I used to play a lot of traditional
  Chinese music with my family. Here I cannot do
  that, so I sing the (classical) music that I
  learn at university and listen to pop music.
• 7, Chinese, f, 27, 4.5, 20, 3

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Dual identity

• Integration is promoted by engagement with both
  own and local music

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Caveats

• Does music promote integration?
• not always
• not always own music
• not always directly

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Is music special?

• Thesis
• Any aspect of culture can promote integration
  music, food, costumes, architecture
• Maybe people can understand our food more easily
  than our music Many people have come to look at
  our church because it is so beautiful
• 33, Copt, f, 17, 17, gt1, 2

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Will any music do?

• Thesis
• Integration is about feeling good wherever you
  are.
• Perhaps any kind of music (own or foreign) can
  help.
• Q Does that bring you closer to Kosovo?
• A I feel better when I listen to music. But that
  is true only for Albanian music but for any music
  that I like.
• 9, Albanian, f, 33, 9, 5, 4
• Q What kind of music helps you feel at home in
  Austria?
• A Musicals. I sing along and lose myself in the
  music to forget my homesickness.
• 2, Chinese, f, 21, 4, 10, 2

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Role of own music

• Thesis
• If own music is preferred, it is because of
  emotional associations and identity, not an
  absolute aesthetic
• (No respondent suggested that their own music
  might be intrinsically superior)

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Practical proposalsoffered toward the end of the
interview

• Public events with different aspects of each
  culture
• 6, Chinese, m, 19, 9, 0, 5 (and others)
• An entertaining multicultural concert for
  children
• 9, Albanian, f, 33, 9, 5, 4
• A multicultural weekend with folklore, football,
  music
• 26, Copt, m, 44, 17, gt1, 3
• Financial support for performance of own music
• 35, Kurd, m, 45, 18, 0, 5
• Media reports on culture not just economics,
  politics
• 12 Albanian, w, 27, 5, gt2, 3

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Strategies for promoting integrationaddress ve
and ve factors simultanously

• Increase salience/incidence of ve factors
• pragmatics language, education, employment
• participation, visibility
• collective activities, e.g. sport and music
• psychology identity, security, and feeling at
  home (e.g. music)
• Reduce salience/incidence of ve factors
• ignorance, prejudice, discrimination, xenophobia,
  racism (incl. through music)

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Strategies for promoting integrationharness two
forms of motivation

• self-interest
• economic, cultural
• e.g. marketing music
• altruism
• NGOs
• e.g. promoting music

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Tentative conclusions

• These and other data suggest that
• Integration can be promoted in many ways
• The importance of music is intermediate
• Possible integration strategies
• Financial support for minority musics
• individual minorities fusions
• even without public performance
• Financial support for performances
• multi- and/or intercultural events
• Minority music in mainstream media
• focus on accessible/interesting styles
• local performers present themselves and their
  music

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What next?

• A second seminar on the same topic
• Different interviewees and interviewers
• Revised interview questions
• Professional repetition of interviews with
  selected participants
• Recommendations to the City of Graz

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Acknowledgments

• Students in seminar
• Musikalische Bedeutung und Kultur
• for their support, enthusiasm and expertise
• The Graz residents who gave interviews
• Angelika Dorfer
• for analysing selected data for her Diplomarbeit