Music and Politics
A Critical Introduction

Changes our picture of how music and politics interact through a rigorous and wide-ranging reappraisal of the field.

James Garratt (Author)

9781107032415, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 8 November 2018

284 pages, 6 b/w illus. 1 table
25.4 x 17.8 x 2 cm, 0.65 kg

This book is not about music or politics. It is about the 'and' that binds them together. How do these fields intersect, and what theories and approaches can help us understand their interactions? How have the relationships between music and politics changed over time and across cultures, and are the familiar tools we use in dealing with them fit for purpose? This book overhauls our understanding of how these fields interact, offering a rigorous reappraisal of key concepts such as power, protest, resistance, subversion, propaganda, and ideology. It explores and evaluates a wide range of perspectives from contemporary political theory, engaging with an array of musical cultures and practices from medieval chant to rap. In addition, it discusses current ways in which the relationships between music and politics are being reconfigured and reconceptualised. Where else can you find Donald Trump, Kendrick Lamar and Beethoven under one cover?

1. Music and politics: key concepts and issues
2. Power and counterpower
3. History, ideology and the politics of context
4. Propaganda, ritual and sovereign power
5. Performing protest: music and activism
6. Critique, subversion and negation
7. Nationalism, racism and fascism.

Subject Areas: Sociology & anthropology [JH], Music reviews & criticism [AVC], Music [AV]