Music and Human Flourishing

Engaging with music through scholarship can contribute to human happiness and well-being, exploring cultural, social, and political practices that surround music. This volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, contains essays by eleven prominent scholars that cover a broad range of topics and music traditions, demonstrating how the process of thinking and writing about music can lead to revelations about cultural identity, social rituals, political ideologies, and spiritual transcendence.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 31 October 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

It is widely acknowledged that engaging in music, whether as a performer, listener, or composer, can have a positive impact on human happiness and well-being. This volume, part of The Humanities and Human Flourishing series, delves into a fourth musical activity—music scholarship—and explores how engagement with the cultural, social, and political practices surrounding music contributes to human flourishing in ways that listening, performing, and even composing alone cannot.

Music and Human Flourishing features essays by eleven prominent scholars from the fields of musicology, ethnomusicology, and music theory. The essays are organized into three main sections: Contemplation, Critique, and Communication.

In Part I, Contemplation, contributors examine a specific aspect of music's connection to human flourishing and consider innovative approaches for future action. They explore topics such as the therapeutic benefits of music, the role of music in religious and spiritual practices, and the impact of music on social and political movements.

Part II, Critique, challenges previous assumptions about the various roles of music in society and highlights the effects of unconscious bias and stereotyping on music's ability to promote human flourishing. The essays in this section examine how music has been used to perpetuate social inequalities, control populations, and promote specific political ideologies. They also explore the ways in which music can be used to challenge these power structures and promote greater social justice.

Part III, Communication, explores how ethnicity, gender, religion, and technology influence our ability to connect with others through music. The essays in this section examine how music can be used to promote cultural exchange, cross-cultural understanding, and social cohesion. They also explore the ways in which music can be used to address social and political issues, such as racism, discrimination, and violence.

Collectively, these essays demonstrate how the process of thinking and writing about music and human flourishing can lead to revelations about cultural identity, social rituals, political ideologies, and even spiritual transcendence. Music scholarship provides a unique lens through which to examine these topics and contributes to our understanding of the complex relationship between music and human flourishing.

Dimension: 235 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197646755