Critical Review 9

Subject: “Paul Simon’s Graceland, South Africa, and the Mediation of Musical Meaning,” by Louise Meintjes

Meintjes’ essay is about Paul Simon’s Graceland, an album released in 1986 which represents a collaborative effort between Simon and artists from the U.S. and South Africa. Meintjes shows how components of the music are regional styles inseparable from their political and cultural roots. As a coherent work, Graceland embodies the notion of collaboration in both its eclectic musical modes and in the process of its creation. Collaboration pervades the album, extending beyond the integrated musical styles to the integration of languages, in particular Zulu and English. The centrality of collaboration in the album makes Graceland polysemic, lending it many possible interpretations. It takes on different semiotic connotations for each listener depending on the listener’s sociopolitical and cultural background.

How is a collaborative musical work viewed as a sociopolitical sign similar to a musical ethnography? What differentiates them?

Challenge Question Cycle Response to Response

Discuss ways in which ethnomusicology is identified with Western music and Western music scholarship.  Do these connections fundamentally subvert attempts to understand other music cultures?  On the other hand, do they complicate attempts to look inward at Western music from a sociological perspective?

~ Aaron Clayton-Dunn

The vast majority of formal ethnomusicologists and ethnomusicological institutions are located in the Western world. Traditionally, ethnomusicology was viewed as, almost exclusively, the study of non-Western musics and their relation to the musics of the Western world. This concept of "otherness," which we have encountered many times lends itself naturally to cultural relativism, as the one of the only ways an ethnographer can provide a solid base grounding for the study comes from utilizing his/her own background.  For most of the readings we have covered in class, the ethnomusicologists come exclusively from a Western academic background, in which they have been schooled in Western music and have remained indubitably immersed in the culture. As such, there is definitely a Western-tinged perspective present whenever a typical academic undertakes an ethnomusicological/ethnographic study. There are examples of those who come from other cultures and study their own culture, such as Kofi Agawu. But even Agawu has studied Western music and considers himself a Western musicologist, so he will, too, face an aspect of "otherness" and have the innate basis for comparison when studying another culture's music, even if it is his own.

Whenever one looks to study any aspect of another culture, one inevitably applies the tool of comparison to ground oneself. Whether this comparison is explicitly stated in the course of the ethnography, the ethnographer nonetheless goes through the process of comparison when witnessing an event; this is simply how the human mind works: we take what we know previously and apply it to the current situation we are experiencing. For this reason, there will always be problems when studying another's culture.

This, though, may not "fundamentally subvert" understanding of another culture. Ethnomusicology, as we have read, has gone through many phases and reforms, the most recent of which has lead to a direct increase in reflexivity present in studies. If an ethnographer sets out to detail their own relevant background and experiences in a study, the readers can possibly detect coloration and bias for themselves. This is by no means a perfect system, as the only person who knows all an ethnographer's relevant background is the ethnographer him/herself. If, however, the reader keeps the mindset of checking a study for bias, by no means does the ethnographers background, in Western music/culture or otherwise, render the study useless. In this day and age, as well, the technology for recording video of performances, rehearsals, and daily life, etc. gives anyone the ability to come to their own conclusions about an aspect of culture (though this, too, is inevitably linked to and/or biased by the videographer's choice of what to record and how to edit).

Recently, ethnomusicologists have looked to rid themselves of these sorts of biases by looking and studying their own cultures. This is most definitely a worthy endeavor, and a highly possible one, since the ethnomusicologist is attuned to his/her own culture more than anyone. At the same time, this inherent "understanding" of one's own culture can cause one to overlook aspects that an outsider would pick up on; many aspects of a culture are taken for granted. So, in this way, the same problems are faced by the ethnographer who studies their own culture. In my opinion, to completely and unbiasedly study a culture, the culture must have a complete "otherness" (such as Earthian culture to the Martian ethnomusicologist). This, as we all know, is never possible in reality; to study the sociological aspects of Western music, one would have to distance oneself from the culture and look at it from an outsider's perspective, which may not be truly possible. As such, there are inherent problems with looking at one's own culture and music, as much as there are when looking at another's culture and music.

~ Adith Ramamurti

I enjoyed your discussion of how our proclivity for comparison is at the heart of our bias in portraying and understanding other cultures.  Ethnomusicologists have historically attempted to understand “the other” through comparison.  Some ethnographers believed they could quickly “get” a culture by abstracting universal cultural themes from their observations.  In light of this, I appreciate the poststructuralist effort to interrogate these notions of “self” and “other” as discrete elements and attempt to understand cultures on their own terms through participant observation (which, luckily, is often productive in ethnomusicological fieldwork).  I also feel that it is really impossible to study a culture and reach conclusions about it in an unbiased way.  I don’t even know what that would mean, as I see bias as an integral part of the process of analysis.

You mention reflexivity and the use of technology as ethnographic tools capable of minimizing bias.  I agree that reflexivity can help show the interplay of the ethnographer’s background and the culture she is studying.  This can shed a lot of light on both those elements.  As far as technology goes, I think it can be helpful as a way of bringing the experience directly to the audience.  Of course, if you publish a video of a cultural practice which is different from the norms of your audience’s cultures, bias enters the system through other channels.  Not only are you biased in what you choose to share, but you also allow for the bias of your audience to come more into play.  And the way you frame the video content when presenting it affects how people will perceive it.

I really liked the article written from the perspective of a Martian studying western art music.  Even in this thought experiment, the Martian would have come from his own music culture and would bring a degree of bias to the table.  But I appreciated the author’s approach of constructing an understanding of the music culture by examining it and deriving insights from an outsider’s perspective.  By doing this, he was able to articulate aspects of the culture that I have always taken for granted, having grown up in it. 

~ Aaron Clayton-Dunn

Critical Review 8

Subject: “Old Can Be Used Instead of New:” Shape-Note Singing and the Crisis of Modernity in the New South, 1880-1920, by Gavin James Campbell

In this essay, Campbell situates the politics of shape-note singing in the context of the political, social, and economic tensions regarding modernity and traditionalism in the South. He discusses attempts at revising The Sacred Harp in a climate of ambivalent notions of heritage and change. Following the Civil War, increased Northeastern production of seven-shape-note urban gospel texts challenged the supremacy of earlier texts, such as The Sacred Harp and Southern Harmony, which had their roots in the Second Great Awakening and early folk traditions. These conflicting musical idioms paralleled the extending reach of national market forces. The old Southern economy was predicated on subsistence farming and was challenged by transforming modes of transportation and agricultural and industrial production. Shape-note text revisionists responded to the demands of Southern rural Conventions and changing musical tastes, attempting to mediate between these ambivalent ideas.

To what extent can the convention of immutability in The Sacred Harp text today be traced to competing economic forces in the South in the late 19th century?

Historical question I’m curious to learn more about: did the Populist movement validate and reinforce earlier forms of shape-note singing?

Challenge Question Cycle

Subject: an essay entitled “Wagner and Power Chords: Skinheadism, White Power Music, and the Internet,” by Les Back

In class we thoroughly discussed the different ways in which internet may have affected the spreading and growth of the white supremacist skinhead movement.   However, we never touched on the quality and values of Back’s actual ethnography.  Do you think he presented the skinhead movement in an objective light?  Is it possible that somehow attempting an objective ethnography of such a hateful and bigoted group is potentially not ethical in itself?

~ Jonathan Koe

Good question.  I would say that Back didn’t present the white supremacist skinhead movement in an objective light at all.  He is writing under the assumption that his audience shares his distaste for the movement’s core values.  But he moves past that understanding to portray a nuanced view of the community.  His essay sheds light on the technological and musical modes of transmission of fascist ideology and culture.

For evidence that Back is in no way seeking to validate or perpetuate white supremacy, we need look no further than the paper’s opening.  He begins with a joke about a skinhead who is so stupid he doesn’t understand what a computer is and uses it as a weapon to mug someone with.  Back explains that this lame joke “masks a deadly serious reality.  The success of the White Power music scene today is in large part the product of the Information Age.”  From the start of his essay, then, Back takes sides against the movement.  For us to take his work seriously, he has to get that out of the way first.

But Back moves on to grapple with the striking diversity of the skinhead movement and shows a degree of compassion toward some of its members.  He writes about “gay skins,” quoting such a person describing a night club packed with gay fascists dancing to black reggae music!  Back then comments “These connections complicate the idea that this was a simplistically chauvinistic culture.”  His thesis, then, with regard to Skinheadism as an ideology, problematizes the simplicity of antiracist depictions of skinheads.  He empathizes with them, but does not attempt to explain, let alone excuse, their beliefs.  Instead, he mostly focuses on the functions of music and technology in creating a “translocal notion of race.”

While white supremacy is a difficult subject to write about, it is nonetheless important that scholars attempt to understand its roots and methods of propagation.  Back discusses notions of identity, pride and community in skinheadism; he points to the powers of music, fashion, ideology, and acceptance into the community as entry points for members; and he reveals how women, homosexuals, and even Jews have entered these social circles, particularly through musical-social channels.  Back’s work provides a fascinating case study of an isolated subject, from which readers can derive general insight into the intersection of music, technology, and culture.  Furthermore, in defending Back’s ethnography of the cultural underpinnings of an evil ideology, I recall a quote from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War: “It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles.”  Perhaps in developing a sophisticated understanding of the movement, Back will be better equip us to oppose it.  He closes with an optimistic analysis of the movement’s current direction.  He writes that the hyperconnectivity of the movement has “accelerated the tendency toward factionalism, which has mercifully haunted post-war fascism.” Back’s account of skinheadism is strongly aligned with the nonracist agenda and paints a picture of a marginalized community undergoing “attrition and division” as its heightened connectivity reveals it as a splintered fringe movement in decline.

~ Aaron Clayton-Dunn

Critical Review 7

In an email exchange on the Sacred Harp listserv, we witness the community wrestling with issues of authenticity and egalitarianism.  From the correspondence, it is clear that the shared values of the community have created a space where every member is expected to be accepting of different cultures and religions.  But they also hold dear the authenticity and social history of their shared text.  The email thread begins with someone expressing their discomfort with two verses in the Sacred Harp, one vilifying Jews, the other representing a Native American monologue in an arguably condescending manner.  Everyone has their two cents.  One man has Jewish friends, so he can’t do any harm by singing the verse, right?  Many responders refuse to sing the verses and advocate for altering or expunging them.  Others argue that singers should accept them even though they are politically incorrect in a modern context because they were written long ago.  Adherents of the latter camp often refer to the offensive language with euphemisms such as “strong stuff” or “hearty language” and suggest that singers instead consider the deeper meanings of the verses. In debating whether changes should be made, an underlying tension exists between maintaining the authenticity of a historical text and allowing that text to evolve in response to its changing social context.

Is perpetuation of a racial stereotype in the context of a traditional artistic practice an act of prejudice?