Nationalism and national identity

One of the most salient modes of personal and community identity in today’s world is nationalism, the connection to a people and a place. This is a powerful sense of self that links to a history that gets taught to children at the earliest stages of life. It’s an important way for states and governments to create social cohesion, especially among the diverse populations that live within the artificial-but-meaningful borders that appear on a map.

As an idea, nationalism gets used by different folks for very different goals, even within the same places. It can be inclusive—we are part of a proud community working to be the best we can—or it can exclude—“those people” are not the same as “us” and they don’t belong here. These ideas have long histories of bringing people together, just as there are innumerable examples from the past and present where they invoke violence against entire groups of people.

Required reading and listening

Music and musical activity have proven to be invaluable tools toward developing and maintaining a sense of nationalism. Music can celebrate a history or foreground specific parts of a national identity just as making music together can invoke a sense of pride and connectedness. This pair of short chapters from Kristina Nielsen and Jessie Vallejo outline some details of how nationalism works, music’s many interactions with that process, and a host of examples. Read both and listen through the items in the annotated playlist.

“Music and nationalism” by Kristina Nielsen and Jessie Vallejo

“Music and nationalism: annotated playlist” by Kristina Nielsen and Jessie Vallejo

Assignment: Musical event report

This is the first of two identical assignments. At this point of the course, it’s helpful to consider some of the concepts related to identity as they work in practice. There will be two identical musical event reports. This is one and the other will be due toward the end of the course. If you have taken a music class before, you may be familiar with the “concert report”: you go to a concert and write about the event and the music that you hear. These are similar, but with a focus on the fact that listening to music is not the only way of engaging with it. For at least one (or both) you will actively participate in the “musicking” in some other way in addition to listening (don’t worry: no musical training is necessary!).

For each of these assignments (this one and the one due later), you will write a reflection on a live musical event that you attend during the course. This gives you the opportunity to utilize the concepts and contexts that we discuss in the course when making your analysis. For at least one event, you are required to participate in some active way (beyond listening). This can include dancing, performing, improvising, singing, producing, directing, etc. If this sounds particularly tricky, consider these potential examples: karaoke, participating in a workshop with a world music ensemble at your university or in your community, line dancing at your local country music outfit, square dancing or contra dancing in your community, clubbing, setting up a gig for a friend’s band, singing around a camp fire, joining in a hip hop battle, performing at an open mic night, helping to set up chairs or handing out fliers for a local gig, and anything else that you can think of. Feel free to ask about any possibilities that come to mind. This different mode of interaction will guide your reflection of the experience and give you a new perspective from which to respond.

For each of the two assignments, you will write 750 words. For the one where you choose to attend an event and participate as a listener and audience member, your essay will:

1. compare and interpret the variety of artistic works that you hear, placing them within a cultural context as supported by materials you receive or conversations you have with performers or audience members, or from independent research in the library or online;
2. analyze how these activities demonstrate the potential benefits and/or conflicts that arise from this community’s place within its regional, national, and/or international landscape;
3. examine the perspectives of music making within this community, how it presents itself and its music, how it orients any visible (or aural) cultural patterns within the performance, and how it responds to global pressures (how is the music changing within this performative context); and
4. ask and attempt to answer questions about the performers’ goals as they present the sounds on stage or within whatever contexts you found and heard them.

It may be necessary to talk to some folks to get good insights into these prompts.

When you are participating in some other way in addition to listening or watching—perhaps as a dancer, performer, accompanist, singer, illustrator, producer, who knows—your response will:

1. describe what you did, and how you arrived at a position to do it;
2. share the experience of participating in a style of musical production that is or is not familiar, how this impacts your understanding of your musical self, and how it changes your tastes and understanding of the musical style; and
3. and compare how your own perspectives changed, if they did, regarding this music and community.

You can do two events where you participate actively, but you cannot report on two events where you are “just” listening or watching. Get out and get involved! In either case, your writing should bounce between personal reflection and anthropological/ethnomusicological observation. You are a participant-observer, to use the term from anthropology. Write about what is happening, why, how individuals are interacting, how the community works, and where you fit into it. Do not be afraid to ask questions and start conversations. Most of all, however, do not be afraid to make mistakes or have fun.

You can complete either paper at either point of the semester, but be sure plan ahead so that you have appropriate events available to you before each deadline.