Jahrestagung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Musikpsychologie, Gießen, 14.-16.9.07
Richard Parncutt and Angelika Dorfer
University of Graz, Austria
The role of music in
cultural integration
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?
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
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?
Contact hypothesis
more frequent contact
 better integration
 collective activities promote integration
 sport
 music
 festivals
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.
Role of “old” culture
 The familiarity of migrant children with
their “old” culture enhances:
 self esteem
 ability to integrate
Hansson, S. (1990). Invandrarföreningar.
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)
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. 108127). London: Thousand Oaks.
 Müller, R. et al. (2002). Wozu Jugendliche Musik und
Medien gebrauchen. Jugendliche Identität und musikalische
und mediale Geschmacksbildung. Weinheim: Juventa.
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.
Our aims
 What is the role of music in integration?
 pilot study
 non-representative sample from Graz
 non-general conclusions
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
Interviews: Participants
 interviewers
 24 participants of a musicology course unit
 in 7 groups
 respondents
 52 “new Austrians”
 Albania
 China
 Egypt (Copts)
sex:
age:
years in EU:




Iraq (Kurds)
Italy
Nigeria
Serbia
28 female
17 to 53
0.2 to 23
24 male
mean 29
mean 8
Not analysed
8 respondents
 significant communication difficulties
 significant missing data
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
Degree of integration
2nd author’s 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
Degree of integration
Degree of Integration
9
8
7
6
5
Number of People
4
3
2
1
0
very low
low
neutral
high
Degree of Integration
very high
Respondents: Years in EU
Degree of integration
6
5
r = .35
p = .07
N = 28
4
3
2
1
0
0,0
5,0
10,0
15,0
Years in EU
20,0
25,0
Respondents:
Practical musicianship
15
Number of
respondents
10
5
0
no
m
o
s
e
no: 0 years / don’t play
some: <=10 years / as a hobby
professional: >10 years / as a profession
of
r
p
l
a
n
o
i
s
s
e
Respondents:
Practical music experience
Degree of integration
6
5
4
r = -.66
p = .002
N = 19
3
2
1
0
0
5
10
15
20
Practical musical experience (years)
25
Importance of own music
 “own” music = of main cultural group
 2nd author’s 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
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 don’t listen to it.”
6, Chinese, m, 19, 9, 0, 5
Importance of own music
Importance of own music
10
9
8
7
6
Number of People 5
4
3
2
1
0
very low
low
neutral
high
Importance of own music
very high
Respondents:
Importance of own music
Degree of integration
6
5
4
r = -.50
p = .007
N = 28
3
2
1
0
0
1
2
3
4
Importance of own music
5
6
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
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, >2, 3
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 can’t speak Italian but I like to listen to Italian music. I
can’t 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 don’t understand the
language very well.”
8 Chinese, f, 20, 2, 16, 1
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
Association
Thesis
Own music is strongly associated with other aspects of
own culture
For
“The music reminds me of the Kurd’s 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, >1, 3
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
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
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, >1, 2
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
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
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
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, >1, 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, >2, 3
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
What next?
 Repeat interviews with selected
participants
 New interview questions based on new
hypotheses
 Recommendations to City of Graz
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?
Identity
Thesis
Public local display of own music
strengthens identity
Referring to a concert of Albanian traditional
music on Graz’s main square:
“The people stopped to look and were interested.
‘Where do they come from? Oh, that’s what it’s
like in Albania! … Aha, Albania is real and
Albanians live right here among us in Graz.’ “
12, Albania, f, 27, 5, >2, 3
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
Dual identity
 Integration is promoted by engagement
with both own and local music
Role of style
Thesis
The integration-promoting function of music
depends strongly on style.
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)