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

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Richard Parncutt and Angelika DorferUniversity
of Graz, AustriaThe role of music in cultural
integration
Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für
Musikpsychologie, Gießen, 14.-16.9.07
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Why music and integration?

• Integration
• social, cultural, political
• globalisation
• Music
• an aspect of culture
• influences identity and well-being
• Music and integration
• a neglected topic?

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Integration Definitions

• social, cultural, political
• all interactions among all cultural groups
• majority
• indigenous implicit ownership of territory?
• minorities
• migrants
• indigenous
• multiple identities
• e.g. old and new, overlapping groups

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Integration Dimensions

• independence in social/political/cultural context
  
• language
• income
• shopping, transport, administration
• frequency of intergroup contact
• friends, acquaintances, events
• acceptance by other groups
• lack of prejudice
• feeling of belonging
• Do I feel at home in Graz?

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Contact hypothesis

• more frequent contact
• ? better integration
• ? collective activities promote integration
• sport
• music
• festivals

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Multiple identities

• e.g. Turkish Austrian woman Muslim
• Intergroup contact
• new cultural orientation
• modification of traditions
• Auernheimer, G. (1996). Einführung in die
  interkulturelle Erziehung (2. Aufl.). Darmstadt
  Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.

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Role of old culture

• The familiarity of migrant children with their
  old culture enhances
• self esteem
• ability to integrate
• Hansson, S. (1990). Invandrarföreningar.

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Research on integration

• language skills
• Greenberg et al. (2001)
• education, occupation, income
• Hou Balakrishnan (1991)
• (un-) employment
• Gowricharn (2002)
• social capital
• Jacobs Tillie (2004)
• opinions and prejudices of majority culture
• Bobo Zubrinsky (1996)

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Music and cultural identity

• Music can both promote and hinder integration
• Folkestad, G. (2002). National identity and
  music.
• In R. McDonald, D. Hargreaves, D. Miell (Ed.)
  Musical identities (pp. 151-162). Oxford Oxford
  University Press.
• Frith, S. (1996). Music and identity.
• In S. Hall P. Du Gay (Ed.) Questions of
  cultural identity (pp. 108-127). London Thousand
  Oaks.
• Müller, R. et al. (2002). Wozu Jugendliche Musik
  und Medien gebrauchen. Jugendliche Identität und
  musikalische und mediale Geschmacksbildung.
  Weinheim Juventa.

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Music and integration

• Stockholm choirs
• Pawlig, M. (2003). Chor als Arena für kulturelle
  Integration. Eine Fallstudie in den Stockholmer
  Vororten Tensta und Rinkeby. Magisterarbeit,
  Berlin.

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Our aims

• What is the role of music in integration?
• pilot study
• non-representative sample from Graz
• non-general conclusions

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Method

• semi-structured interviews
• musicology students Graz residents
• summary transcription by students
• qualitative analysis
• hermeneutic formulation of hypotheses
• formulate or revise (top-down)
• search for quotes for against (bottom-up)
• repeat
• quantitative analysis
• demographics, quantitative measures

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Interviews Participants

• interviewers
• 24 participants of a musicology course unit
• in 7 groups
• respondents
• 52 new Austrians
• Albania
• China
• Egypt (Copts)
• sex 28 female 24 male
• age 17 to 53 mean 29
• years in EU 0.2 to 23 mean 8

• Iraq (Kurds)
• Italy
• Nigeria
• Serbia

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Not analysed

• 8 respondents
• significant communication difficulties
• significant missing data

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Interviews Issues

• (any) music in everyday life
• own performance of (any) music
• cultural identities
• social contacts
• favourite CDs
• culture of main cultural group
• music, customs, traditions
• views on role of music in integration

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Degree of integration

• 2nd authors interpretation of transcripts

• main criteria
• 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 integration
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Respondents Years in EU
r .35 p .07 N 28
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Respondents Practical musicianship
no 0 years / dont play some lt10 years / as a
hobby professional gt10 years / as a profession
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RespondentsPractical music experience
r -.66 p .002 N 19
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Importance of own music

• own music of main cultural group
• 2nd authors interpretation of transcripts

• main criteria
• 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 music

• 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
• 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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Importance of own music
24
RespondentsImportance of own music
r -.50 p .007 N 28
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Group differences

• 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
• Many, e.g. Serbs
• music important for identity but job, language
  more important for integration

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Contact

• 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 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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Migrants versus locals

• Thesis
• Own music is more important for migrants than for
  locals (back 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

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Music as part of culture

• Thesis
• Any aspect of culture can equally well 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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Cultural freedom

• 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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Feeling of acceptance

• Thesis
• Low self-rated integration is associated with
  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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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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Practical proposals

• 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 as well as economics,
  politics
• 12 Albanian, w, 27, 5, gt2, 3

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Conclusions

• These and other data suggest that
• Integration can be promoted in many ways
• One of these is musical
• Possible integration strategies
• Promotion of minority music
• Promotion of intercultural musical contact

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What next?

• Repeat interviews with selected participants
• New interview questions based on new hypotheses
• Recommendations to City of Graz

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Example

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

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Identity

• Thesis
• Public local display of own music strengthens
  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 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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Role of style

• Thesis
• The integration-promoting function of music
  depends strongly on style.

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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)