Straight out the barrio: Ozomatli and the importance of place in the formation of Chicano/a popular culture in Los Angeles

Abstract

Ozomatli's history of formation, the multiplicity of its sounds, the role played by its music in enabling political activism and political coalitions illuminate the relations between identities and politics at the present moment. The group is grounded in Los Angeles contemporary Chicano/a culture and in the new social relations, new knowledges, and new sensibilities of an emerging global city in a transnational era. Speaking from the interstices between commercial culture and the new social movements, Ozomatli's music and political work offers us invaluable bottom‐up perspectives on the terrain of counter‐politics and cultural creation at the beginning of the twenty‐first century.     

'Ancient + Future = Now': Goa Gil and Transnational Neo-Tribalism in Global Rave Culture

Abstract

This article posits the case study of rave music DJ Goa Gil as a dynamic example of the transnational, deterritorializing flows that inform the community formation and signifying practices of contemporary rave culture. Intended as a commentary on the changing nature of subcultural formation and practice, Goa Gil's story reveals a complex pattern of transnational and transcultural networks and exchanges. From 1960s American hippy to global rave music DJ, guru, and nomad, Goa Gil is one of the subculture's progenitors of neo-tribalism, a discursive and symbolic trope that allows ravers to imagine, and give name to, their transnational communities of affect that cross national and cultural borders. Set within a social context of advanced information technologies and rapidly changing modes of communication, neo-tribalism, as a critical concept, can be easily applied to any number of communities of affect across the globe, paving the way for a re-evaluation of (sub)cultural inter-connectedness in the early twenty-first century.     

“Doing Gender”

Abstract

Through thinking about and empirically analyzing lesbigay domestic arrangements in Sweden, this paper aims at broadening the understanding of gender and further developing the “doing gender” perspective as applied to housework division. It begins with a review of empirical findings of and the application of the “doing gender” approach to housework division, identifying problems associated with a focus on heterosexual units in a context where gender norms are seemingly homogeneous and conventional. To make full use of the perspective, it is necessary to allow for contradictions in and resistance against normative expectations of gender. Empirically, this translates to exploring domestic arrangements in a variety of settings with different normative expectations of gender. This paper takes a small step in this direction through undertaking an empirical study of the division of housework in lesbigay households in Sweden and finds a strong pattern of egalitarianism that consists less in a 50% split between the couple in all household tasks but in the fluidity, complexity, and deliberateness in which housework is shared, especially among lesbian couples. The analysis further underscores the importance of gender in lesbigay households.     

Aesthetics of disaster as decolonial aesthetics: making sense of the effects of Hurricane María through Puerto Rican contemporary art

ABSTRACT

On 20 September 2017, Hurricane María made landfall on Puerto Rico causing unprecedented disaster. From that day onwards, the Puerto Rican multi-layered colonial, social and political context was further complicated by the traumatic acceleration of a human disaster via this natural disaster. This crystalized the urgency of using art as vehicle for (social) catharsis, a practice that continues to be used by individual artists, collectives, community organizations, art projects, and other art institutions on the island and abroad, through mural art, community paintings, art exhibitions, literature, music, and many other aesthetic expressions. This article examines, from a decolonial and critical cultural studies perspective, post-Hurricane María artistic expressions in contemporary art as decolonial aesthetics through the cathartic use of the frame of an aesthetics of disaster. It is argued that, an aesthetics of disaster aims to re-assert an artistic form that is able to accelerate the discursive nullification of a deeply rooted colonial, social and cultural problem by way of art as catharsis inspired by the way that Hurricane María unveiled these problems. The piece briefly contextualizes Puerto Rico, and it examines the idea of Puerto Rican contemporary art as catharsis. Then, it describes how Puerto Rican contemporary art exhibitions and associated aesthetic production are processing urgent post-hurricane issues through three illustrative pieces in exhibitions in PR and abroad in the United States (US). Lastly, decolonial aesthetics is reexamined and re-understood, informed by Édouard Glissant's view expressed in Poetics of Relation which aids to the conclusion that Puerto Rican contemporary art using the frame of an aesthetics of disaster functions as a powerful form of decolonial aesthetics.     

I Believe… in What? Arvo Pärt's and Alfred Schnittke's Polystylistic Credos

Abstract

From the late 1960s until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, numerous composers, especially those belonging to the generation born in the 1930s and commonly referred to as non-conformist, 'avant-garde' or 'unofficial', produced over 100 religious musical works. Some of these composers, such as Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) and Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998) employed the controversially flamboyant polystylistic compositional idiom to express their faith in God. Because the merits of the employment of mimetic polystylism in the realm of sacred music have rarely been analysed, my aim is to demonstrate that, in the Soviet context, it was a very appropriate vehicle for conveying religious sentiments by musical means, as it enabled the composers to express their beliefs, but also to narrate related stories. I shall address this issue by analysing three pieces: Arvo Pärt's Credo for piano solo, chorus and orchestra (1968), and the Credo movements from Alfred Schnittke's Requie m (1975) for three sopranos, contralto, tenor, mixed choir and instrumental ensemble, and Second Symphony 'St Florian' (1979) for mixed chamber choir and large orchestra. The reason for choosing the Credo 'genre' is that by definition it is a manifesto of the composer's faith in God, and hence it bears exceptional moral and spiritual weight.     

Black Edens,country Eves: Listening,performance, and black queer longing in country music

ABSTRACT

This article explores Black queer country music listening, performance, and fandom as a source of pleasure, nostalgia, and longing for Black listeners. Country music can be a space for alliance and community, as well as a way of accessing sometimes repressed cultural and personal histories of violence: lynching and other forms of racial terror, gender surveillance and disciplining, and continued racial and economic segregation. For many Black country music listeners and performers, the experience of being a closeted fan also fosters an experience of ideological hailing, as well as queer world-making. Royster suggests that through Black queer country music fandom and performance, fans construct risky and soulful identities. The article uses Tina Turner's solo album, Tina Turns the Country On! (1974) as an example of country music's power as a tool for resistance to racial, sexual, and class disciplining.     

“You Don't Get to Sing a Song When You Have Nothing to Say”: Oliver Mtukudzi's Music as a Vehicle for Socio-Political Commentary

Abstract

Oliver Mtukudzi's music is known for both its musicality and because it addresses social and political issues. Mtukudzi uses his music to tackle the political realities of Zimbabwe and issues related to AIDS, gender and street children. The use of riddles and innuendo is common within Shona music and it is these tools that Mtukudzi uses to deal with these issues that are not commonly addressed by many other musicians. This article analyses his lyrics and music to examine these particular issues. Particular attention is paid to music because the embedded subtexts of music help to illuminate the subtexts of the lyrics.     

Express yourself! A student's experience of running a movement improvisation workshop

This paper is an account of a social work student's experience running an improvisation workshop whilst on placement in a children's residential home. It describes the ways in which children were able to use movement and music in a spontaneous and unstructured manner to express their emotions, and how the improvised use of music can enable children to relate to, and understand, their experience.     

Awareness and attitude of medical personnel in Kerala,India to transgender persons

IntroductionBeing one of the first Indian states to come out with a transgender bill in 2015, Kerala's Social Justice Department also implemented various health-based provisions for transgender individuals catering to their physical, mental, and gender-based health. Many of these are still in the process of being set up and transgender individuals will have to wait for smoother access to healthcare.AimThis study aims to assess the awareness regarding general transgender issues and health as well as the attitude towards transgender persons among the medical community- especially medical students and doctors who are a critical link for the integration of the transgender community into society.MethodResponses were collected from 452 medical doctors and students from Kerala through scales that measured awareness level and attitude, including transphobia. The relation of gender, age, years of experience, and specialty of medical personnel to the level of transphobia and awareness about transgender issues was also analyzed using statistical methods.Result and DiscussionTransphobia levels were moderate in the sample. Women and medical students had lower levels of transphobia than men and practicing doctors respectively. Awareness levels were average for general information about the transgender community, such as its core features and difference from other similar categories but were low on health-related aspects of transgender persons (such as their physical and mental health issues, healthcare provisions, and knowledge on gender affirmation surgery).ConclusionMore inclusive actions are needed in medical education, legislative actions, advocacy groups, and the formation of multidisciplinary surgical teams to further the cause of the transgender community.     

“Anyone Can Be a Lesbian”

ABSTRACT

An overview of the history, politics, and marketing of the 1970s lesbian-feminist music movement. This article addresses the specific audience created by and receptive to the women's music “sound” and message, and examines some of the backlash and critique concerning the meaning and application of a separatist message. Artists' responses to questions of women-only space and coalition building are included in the analysis of concert and recording politics.     

Invisible republics and secret histories: A politics of music

Abstract

How does music ‐ or any cultural artefact ‐ assume significance for those who encounter it? Why does one sound or image come to matter, while others are overlooked or forgotten? The answer is not to be found in the sounds alone, but in the context and conditions in which they are heard. This article explores this argument by considering the case of The Anthology of American Folk Music, a set of recordings from the 1920s and 1930s, which has exercised an extraordinary power over popular music since its release in 1952. Using the arguments expounded by Robert Cantwell and Greil Marcus, and pointing to the uses of music in establishing national identities and mobilising social movements, the article argues for an understanding of music's significance that links social experience, aesthetic pleasure and political values.     

Contemporary South African Jazz and the Politics of Place

Abstract

Drawing on popular music scholarship on music and place, as well as interviews with jazz musicians, scholars, and journalists active on the jazz scenes in Durban and Johannesburg, this article considers how locales are perceived to uniquely influence music-making. Extending Bakhtin's notion of “utterance” to music, it argues that the musical character of recent South African jazz subtly registers demographic, political, economic, and environmental specificities peculiar to contemporary Durban and Johannesburg. It is argued that contemporary South African jazz, as it is experienced by its performers and listeners, may be profitably conceptualised as speaker and addressee of locale.     

Talking about Russian Sex in the Era of Pussy Riot

Abstract

An attempt is made to sketch a strategy for reading Kronos (2013), Witold Gombrowicz’s (1904–1969) recently published intimate journal, which he kept in the years 1952–1969. It treats Kronos as belonging to Gombrowicz’s corpus, not merely as a literary sensation or an indiscretion, but as an important artistic and philosophical exhibit, which throws further light on Gombrowicz’s preoccupation with the expression of the body and the existentialist concept of person as presence, one of his Nietzschean strategies for countering metaphysics and its ideal transcendence. The key concepts that bring together the artistic, the autobiographical/somatic, and the philosophical are pain and aging. This reading, in demonstration of the artistic unity of Gombrowicz’s corpus, situates Kronos in the context of the novel Pornografia (1960) and the Diary (1953–1969), which share the major themes of aging and pain.     

“The Spider Is Alive”: Reassessing Becker's Theory of Artistic Conventions through Southern Italian Music

Howard Becker wrote that art is constructed, and understood, according to conventions. However, Becker does not adequately explain how artists negotiate historical circumstances affecting their work. Using the southern Italian phenomenon of tarantism and its music, I address how contemporary musicians employ conventions to transform sounds with deviant connotations. The alteration of musical conventions reflects material social conditions in the Salento region and provides insight into the formation of a Salentinian cultural movement's ideology. By accounting for how social groups contend with history, I argue that sociologists must reconsider the theory of artistic conventions.     

Rising from the Ashes of Cutback,Political Warfare and Degraded Services

Abstract

The economic and social decline of the white middle class over the last 20 years, fueled by intense economic shifts in global capital formation and worldwide market competition, has led to a conservative politics of the 1990s that harbingers a further erosion of the welfare state. This essay defines some of the critical areas which progressives must carefully examine if they are to counter conservative arguments more effectively, including a realistic assessment of the global economy, the role poor communities can play in social transformation, the need to reconfigure social services in today's politicized environment, the use of services as an economic investment in community, and the importance of expanding organizing activities throughout the field.     

The Health Education Section: 38 Years of Growth

Abstract

The author traces the growth of ACHA's Health Education Section from its beginnings with a handful of members in the late 1950s to its position of increasing leadership in the organization. She describes the growth of innovative programs the section's more than 300 health educators developed as they expanded the concept of health education and promotion beyond the walls of traditional health centers into the broader university community. College health educators must participate in efforts to establish accountability for prevention and promotion strategies that include community health as well as clinical preventive services.     

Negotiating and enacting musical innovation and continuity: How some torres strait islander songwriters incorporate traditional dance chants within contemporary songs

Many Indigenous peoples worldwide engage with popular music and popular music forms, often striving to find a balance between traditional and contemporary influences.

This article uses ethnographic data from Australian Torres Strait Islander songwriters to explore the processes and rationales they use when incorporating traditional dance chants within contemporary songs.

The research demonstrates some of their processes of innovation and continuation while they negotiate crucial cultural and community politics that inform not only music and dance but also other forms of contemporary Indigenous artistic expression.

The songwriters perceive themselves as creators but creators who must also work within the cultural, social and aesthetic dictates of their communities.     

Joseph Mainzer (1801–1851) and the Popularisation of Choral Singing in Britain

Singing master Joseph Mainzer came to England in 1841 as a political refugee from Germany. Through his music schools, his textbook Singing for the Million, and his journal Mainzer's Musical Times (today The Musical Times) he contributed significantly to the popularisation of choral singing in Britain. This essay takes Mainzer's political background as a starting point to investigate the complex relationship between refuge and artistic production. It is argued that the latter was deeply informed by the former. Mainzer not only transferred choral traditions but also a politicised concept of popular culture which started to take hold in pre-revolutionary Vormärz-Germany. The case study is integrated into the larger framework of Anglo-German cultural relations and political refuge in mid-nineteenth century Britain.     

Consequences of the increasing rationality of music: A reassessment of Weberian rationalization

Max Weber's theory of the rationalization of music is used to demonstrate that there is a nexus between the tonal structure of music, which is formally “rational” in the Weberian sense, and the fundamental irrational properties on which it rests. It is posited that Weber, although failing to differentiate between types of irrationality, was primarily concerned with only two forms: harmonic‐structural and interpretational. Ironically, there is another more sociological type of irrationality that Weber failed to address. This type may be termed “interactional” irrationality. The importance of recognizing this element within the musical organization is critical, as the balance between rationality and irrationality becomes increasingly delicate. Case studies of professional, classically trained symphonic musicians and conductors illustrate the irrational consequences of growing rationality within the social organization of symphonic music.