The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Singing a new Song? Transnational migration, methodological nationalism and cosmopolitan perspectives

Singing a new Song? Transnational migration, methodological nationalism and cosmopolitan perspectives
Singing a new Song? Transnational migration, methodological nationalism and cosmopolitan perspectives
The question posed by this article is how all of us - scholars, musicians, citizens of the world can step out of the migrant/native divide and still leave room to study and theorize creative processes that bring together the intertwining of cultural influences. How can we discard a concept of hybridity with its implications of a prior state of native purity and address the ongoing mutual interactions that unfold within migration processes? This is an ever pressing question for cultural theory in a world in which there is widespread migration and a cyberspace environment of multiple interconnections. Migration provides a base for theorizing cultural processes that extend beyond the specificity of people crossing borders.

In order to begin answering this question it is useful to ask when and why do we see a migrant/ foreigner vs. native divide in the first place. This divide reflects and reinforces a tendency in various disciplines to equate nation-state boundaries with the concept of society. In the first section of this article, we will explore the nature and implications of methodological nationalism and place it within a historical context. In its stead we will offer what Glick Schiller has called “a global power perspective on migration” (Glick Schiller, 2009, 2010b). In the second part of the paper we will apply this perspective to case studies of the transnational social field of musical creation that stretches between Europe and localities of artistic production in Africa. Focusing on the movements and interconnections of musicians of Malagasy origin, we will illustrate the ways in which transnational networking can give rise to substantial ‘transcultural capital’, (Kiwan and Meinhof, 2011; Meinhof, 2009; Meinhof and Triandafyllidou, 2006b) and thus underpin the professionalization of some artists, but can also reflect the inequalities and multiple pressures for authenticity in the world music market.
21-39
Glick Schiller, Nina
afb34796-31f1-487c-a1bf-221d7c3632c0
Meinhof, Ulrike H.
56befd2f-b46a-4f5a-9738-24920308a376
Glick Schiller, Nina
afb34796-31f1-487c-a1bf-221d7c3632c0
Meinhof, Ulrike H.
56befd2f-b46a-4f5a-9738-24920308a376

Glick Schiller, Nina and Meinhof, Ulrike H. (2011) Singing a new Song? Transnational migration, methodological nationalism and cosmopolitan perspectives. [in special issue: Music and Migration] Music and Arts in Action, 3 (3), 21-39.

Record type: Article

Abstract

The question posed by this article is how all of us - scholars, musicians, citizens of the world can step out of the migrant/native divide and still leave room to study and theorize creative processes that bring together the intertwining of cultural influences. How can we discard a concept of hybridity with its implications of a prior state of native purity and address the ongoing mutual interactions that unfold within migration processes? This is an ever pressing question for cultural theory in a world in which there is widespread migration and a cyberspace environment of multiple interconnections. Migration provides a base for theorizing cultural processes that extend beyond the specificity of people crossing borders.

In order to begin answering this question it is useful to ask when and why do we see a migrant/ foreigner vs. native divide in the first place. This divide reflects and reinforces a tendency in various disciplines to equate nation-state boundaries with the concept of society. In the first section of this article, we will explore the nature and implications of methodological nationalism and place it within a historical context. In its stead we will offer what Glick Schiller has called “a global power perspective on migration” (Glick Schiller, 2009, 2010b). In the second part of the paper we will apply this perspective to case studies of the transnational social field of musical creation that stretches between Europe and localities of artistic production in Africa. Focusing on the movements and interconnections of musicians of Malagasy origin, we will illustrate the ways in which transnational networking can give rise to substantial ‘transcultural capital’, (Kiwan and Meinhof, 2011; Meinhof, 2009; Meinhof and Triandafyllidou, 2006b) and thus underpin the professionalization of some artists, but can also reflect the inequalities and multiple pressures for authenticity in the world music market.

Text
80-Article Text-431-2-10-20111218 - Version of Record
Download (291kB)

More information

Published date: 24 November 2011
Organisations: Faculty of Humanities

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 199149
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/199149
PURE UUID: 45e421bb-a985-4a32-9e10-004c45b5348b

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 25 Oct 2011 09:20
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:14

Export record

Contributors

Author: Nina Glick Schiller

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×