MUSI 2540 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Bodily Integrity, Cultural Relativism
9 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Warren’s position:
● Musical meaning is rooted in experience.
● Musical meaning is not singular. It is multiple.
● Musical meaning is interpersonal and has ethical implications.
Perspectives on the application of ethics in/through music…
1. Music is completely separate from social and ethical issues.
2. Music has ethical meaning within it.
3. Musicians should leverage their music and celebrity to support social change.
4. Interrelationships within music (e.g. cooperation between musicians) can be adopted by
larger-scale social relationships.
5. All musical activity involves encounters with others that give rise to ethical
responsibilities.
Questions to consider:
● How is music related to society?
○ How should it be related?
● What responsibilities do musicians and those who experience music have towards
society?
Music and the Myth of Universality
● Common assumptions:
○ Music transcends borders and unites
○ Music is innately and actively progressive.
■ Music helps to resolve conflict and tension.
● Can these assumptions be proven?
○ Does music really affect change?
Misunderstandings of Human Rights
● Conflated with the political
● Human rights narrowed down to freedom of expression
● Declarations on universal human rights ignore local cultural norms and cultural relativism
denies universal human rights.
○ According to Reza Afshari: “A traditional culture must change for the culture of
human rights to emerge.”
Misuses of Music to Safeguard Human Rights
● Music is used to raise local awareness.
○ Assumes that music is a blank space on which meanings can be easily imposed
(the butter on the bread).
● Pop stars are used promote NGO “brands”.
● Music is used for catharsis: To alleviate tension; produce momentary good feelings.
● Music is used to create solidarity.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Musical meaning is interpersonal and has ethical implications. Music helps to resolve conflict and tension. Human rights narrowed down to freedom of expression. Declarations on universal human rights ignore local cultural norms and cultural relativism denies universal human rights. According to reza afshari: a traditional culture must change for the culture of human rights to emerge. Music is used to raise local awareness. Assumes that music is a blank space on which meanings can be easily imposed (the butter on the bread). Pop stars are used promote ngo brands . Music is used for catharsis: to alleviate tension; produce momentary good feelings. Altruistic subordination - suppressing people you"re trying to help by having them do something just because it"s the right thing to do but no compensation. Tapping into pre-trauma memories, in order to heighten a sense of individual cultural survival and resilience. Utilizing local understandings of music and its role in social life.
