Introduction:
Defining ‘reconciliation’ alone can be a cumbersome task. It has been defined as many things such as “a collection of lived practices – a culture, a cultural project, a sea-change in the psyche of a nation and a product of the imagination of the ‘lunar left’ (Rigney & Hemming, 2011).” The main idea one should keep in mind when reading this paper, is the discrepancies between Indigenous and Western worlds and the way in which they conceptualise music. When understanding music as a tool for reconciliation, it can be defined under any of the headings stated above. The way in which traditional and popular music is discussed in this paper can be identified as ‘a collection of lived practices – a culture (Rigney & Hemming, 2011)’. Consequently, contemporary music (for the Indigenous cause) is better described as a cultural project and an attempt for a sea-change in the psyche of a nation. Lastly, the idea of Indigenous music being incorporated into the curriculum and teacher’s pedagogy, to most, will appear as ‘a product of the imagination of the lunar left (Rigney & Hemming, 2011).’ In discussing these subjects, hopefully some clarity will be gained as to why these definitions have been accepted in each musical realm.
Western Music Ideology vs. Traditional Indigenous Music
‘Western music is regarded as a piece of individual property, performed to entertain and appeal to the listener’s emotions (Mills, 1996).’ In keeping this working definition of Western music in mind, it is no wonder that Westerners fail to see and ridicule the ‘power’ of Indigenous music (Mills, 1996). In this sense, viewing Western music as a ‘mass-produced, commodified and standardised product, involving minimal creativity (Connell & Gibson 2003...
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.... 2011. AUST2612 Reconciliation and Indigenous Knowledges: course handbook, Flinders University of South Australia, South Australia.
Rose, A. 1995. ‘A Place for Indigenous Music in Formal Music Education’ in International Journal of Music Education, vol 26: 39.
Top40-Charts.com 2011. Top40-Charts.com – Songs & Videos from 49 Top 20 & Top 40 Music Charts from 30 Countries. America. Viewed 1st November 2011
YouTube 2009. Apology (It’s Time) featuring Will.i.am. Australia. Viewed 1st November 2011
YouTube 2011. Rihanna – We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris. Australia. Viewed 1st November 2011
YouTube 2011. Snoop Dogg – ‘Sweat’ Snoop Dogg vs David Guetta (Remix – YouTube. Australia. Viewed 1st November 2011 < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnEXrbAQyIo>
In its broadest sense ‘Reconciliation’ is the Australian term that refers to the unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. To support reconciliation means working to overcome the separation and inequality between all Australians (Australia, n.d.). In 1992, then Prime Minister Paul Keating, delivered the Redfern Park speech that publically acknowledged European soldiers were responsible for many crimes against Indigenous communities, "We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice (Government, 1992)." Since 1993, Reconciliation Week is a national event that celebrates a positive and respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It enables all Australians to close the gaps, and to achieve a shared sense of fairness and justice. The ultimate goal of the week is to build a strong and trusting relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and other Australians, as a foundation for success and to enhance national wellbeing (Australia, n.d.). However, this advocacy for Indigenous rights and recognition was advanced be civil right activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s. One significant activist from this period and until her death in 1993 was Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Oodgeroo Noonuccal has significantly contributed to the civil rights of the Indigenous people in Australia due to her tireless campaigning to educate non-Indigenous Australians and enact political change that would not only recognize Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander people within the census but further understand their rich and diverse culture. Noonuccal’s contribution can be seen through her significa...
David Garneau’s article on “Imaginary Spaces of Conciliation and Reconciliation” offers a refreshing outlook on the term and implantation of reconciliation in post-colonial culture. He argues that conciliation would evoke an individual transformation of the settler if Aboriginal history was accepted as independent yet in union with the history of Canada. Garneau’s vison of conciliation is centered on this idea of an imaginary space between the settlers and Aboriginals and, within this space, settlers are separated from Aboriginals to naturally reflect on the Aboriginal’s experiences of colonialism. However, the implications of this space also created a void in society because the residential schools are the imaginary spaces in which settlers are reconciling. The direction of Garneau’s article is insightful to understanding how reconciliation has failed in countries and how it’s practice, in accordance with religious connotations, has created an underlying tone of “charity” and “pardon” opposed to restorative justice (35).
Music’s role on society has changed drastically through the course of its history as it has become ever so increasingly expansive. Many of the previous musical movements were only for the wealthy as entertainment
“Together the matrices of race and music occupied similar position and shared the same spaces in the works of some of the most lasting texts of Enlightenment thought..., by the end of the eighteenth century, music could embody differences and exhibit race…. Just as nature gave birth and form to race, so music exhibited remarkable affinities to nature” (Radano and Bohlman 2000: 14). Radano and Bohlman pointed out that nature is a source of differences that give rise to the different racial identities. As music embodies the physical differences of human, racial differences are not only confined to the differences in physical appearances, but also the differences in many musical features, including language, tonality and vocal expression. Nonetheless, music is the common ground of different racial identities. “In the racial imagination, music also occupies a position that bridges or overlaps with racial differences. Music fills in the spaces between racial distinctiveness….” (Radano and Bohlman 2000:8) Even though music serves as a medium through which different racial identities are voiced and celebrated individually, it establishes the common ground and glues the differences
Despite the overwhelming use in political rhetoric, it is difficult to establish the Government of Canada’s precise definition of reconciliation. It is equally unclear as to what reconciliation entails substantively— as either a process or an outcome —in reconceiving the colonial relationship between Indigenous peoples, Settlers, and the Canadian government. For my Reconciliation Essay, I intend to problematize the very term of reconciliation as used in Canadian politics by drawing primarily on its use in the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s 2008 Residential Schools Apology. I will argue that the concept reconciliation as exercised in the political discourse of federal government is neither a meaningful gesture, nor consistent with Indigenous conceptions of same term. In fact, reconciliation as presented by the Government of Canada serves only as a tool to recolonize Indigenous peoples, in that its connotations leave the colonial relationship largely
This ethnography, written and told from Campbell’s point of view, shares her experiences as she sets out on her goal to study the musical culture among children in hopes to provide insight into how music plays a role in the lives of children of all different ages. This ethnography is split into three different sections, the first detailing Campbell’s different periods of observation. During her studies on the subject, Campbell spent time in different settings (such as a school bus, a cafeteria, a music class, and at a playground) in the hopes to observe their behavior and create detailed field notes in order to provide details into their interactions and their usage of music. In the second section, Campbell shares her conversations with several different children. Through these conversations, we get a taste of how music can be integrated within many different aspects of children’s lives. The third section focuses on what music means to children as well as how it can play a role or be integrated into diff...
This strategy of developing a relationship with Aboriginal communities can be seen as one of the most important strategies in the regards to the realisation of meeting 1.1.2 (NSW DET 2008). These learning partnerships have been proven to be beneficial to the community on the whole, not only “giving credibility and integrity to the teaching of Aboriginal students and syllabus content related to Aboriginal issues” (NSW BOS 2008, p. 2) but also builds pride and confidence within the Indigenous parents and therefore their community. The NSW BOS (2008, p. 2) goes on to say that for a school to provide authentic experiences, skills and knowledge in context to Aboriginal studies; they must consult Aboriginal people. The AETP (NSW DET 2008) believe that consultation with Aboriginal communities will provide the support and knowledge teachers need to develop engaging and motivating learning environments and scenarios, demonstrate high expectations and work with Aboriginal students in their pursuit of ‘personal
Miller, Terry, and Andrew Shahriari. World Music: A Global Journey. New York, London: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2006.
The goals and visions behind my reconciliation action plan was to bring the two sides of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians together in equality and harmony. Since the colonisation of Australia there has been a vast divide between the two sides that has caused many serious outcomes for Aboriginal people. My way of contributing to this is to create a better understanding, restore trust and eradicate racism as a positive way to help close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia’s.
Tick, Judith, and Paul E. Beaudoin. Music in the USA: a Documentary Companion. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. Print.
“How Musical is Man?” was published in 1974. This book was written by John Blacking, a musician turned social anthropologist. His goal in writing this ethnography, and several other papers during this same time period, was to compare the experience of music-making that takes place within different cultures and societies throughout the world. In this book, he discusses and describes the musicology of the Venda people in South Africa. Though he does go to Africa to research and learn about the Venda people and their music, he specifically states that his book is “not a scholarly study of human musicality” (ix), but rather it is a summary (written from his point of view), which is both expressive and entertaining, of several different issues and ideas that he has seemingly been contemplating for some time.
"Music is a common experience and a large part of societies. In fact, anthropologists note that all human communities at all times and in all places, have engaged in musical behaviours. Music as a mode of human activity is a cultural phenomenon constituting a fundamental social entity as humans create music and create their relationship to music. As cultural phenomeno...
Some may say music is just music; a song is just a song. However, music plays an enormous role in our psychology, because a single song has the ability to bring about many kinds of thoughts and emotions in the listener. Music is subtly one of the main factors in which people identify with certain groups and establish their belonging in society. It shapes people’s perspectives on how the world functions and the roles they play within it. Music can function the same way in a culture; it can reflect many of the culture’s values and ideologies. Music can have many effects on culture and the people’s idea of who they think they are within that culture. Music can serve in a way that promotes cultural identity and pride, yet it could also play a role in the separation of social and economical identities in within cultures.
The influence that music has throughout the world is immeasurable. Music evokes many feelings, surfaces old memories, and creates new ones all while satisfying a sense of human emotion. With the ability to help identify a culture, as well as educate countries about other cultures, music also provides for a sense of knowledge. Music can be a tool for many things: relaxation, stimulation and communication. But at the same time it can also be a tool for resistance: against parents, against police against power. Within the reign of imported culture, cross cultivation and the creation of the so-called global village lies the need to expand horizons to engulf more than just what you see everyday. It is important to note that the role of music in today’s world is a key tool in the process of globalization. However, this does not necessarily provide us with any reasons that would make us believe that music has a homogenizing affect on the world.
Music has played a role in society since the dawn of man. Said to be the beginning of communication in early civilization, music and dance have influenced how we think, act and treat members of our own society. Song and dance is used in rites of passage ceremonies such as births, weddings and funerals throughout the world. Jamaican and Yoruba cultures have made many contributions to our society. The uses of this music as a vehicle for political issues, values, and beliefs have been used by many musicians from different cultures. I intend to discuss the Contribution of these two contemporary cultures music and their effect on society.