The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, ... more The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace... more From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace the idea of a ‘unified’ identity with the concept of dynamic, multiple and fractured identities. However, it has been suggested that there is an ontological problem with researching dynamic conceptions of identity and that all too often people treat forming and formative processes (such as the makings and doings of identity) as fixed and formed wholes. This article attempts to address this concern through an exploration of the ‘doings’ of Scottish national identities. Drawing on a nonrepresentational inspired study of (‘Scottish’) musical performances the project presented in this article seeks to explore how a study of the ephemeral, emotionally charged moments of (‘Scottish’) musical performance might shed new light on the nature and (re)production of Scottish national identities in the making or the doing. This article therefore makes a contribution to understandings of ‘Scottishness’ (as lived experiences), but, it also makes a contribution to the geographies of music literature by highlighting the need to further explore the practical and performative dimensions of ‘musicking’.
Emotional experiences and relationships have traditionally been marginalized in human geography d... more Emotional experiences and relationships have traditionally been marginalized in human geography despite their impact on all aspects of social life. We argue, however, that understanding emotions is crucial for appreciating how the world of human (inter)actions works. To develop this argument we address two key questions. First, we ask how it is possible for social scientists to access the intimate emotional content of human affairs. One answer to this lies in settings where the emotional dimensions of social relations are deliberately and routinely enhanced. The example we take is that of musical performance. Second, we consider what might be done with these emotional ways of knowing once they have been acquired. What relevance does emotional knowing and being have? To address this, we turn to the relatively neglected concept of social well‐being, and we outline some ways in which ‘musicking’ might be used to promote it. These include music as therapy; music as a way of enhancing quality of life; and music as a medium of empowerment.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 2003
The past four decades have seen a number of works emerge that comment on the nature of culture an... more The past four decades have seen a number of works emerge that comment on the nature of culture and its diffusion and transformation in the United States, including Daniel Boorstin's The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events
The role of the nation in the contemporary cosmopolitan era is hotly contested. In some quarters ... more The role of the nation in the contemporary cosmopolitan era is hotly contested. In some quarters the nation is perceived to be a divisive relic which needs to be replaced by a more inclusive cosmopolitan alternative. Elsewhere the nation is assumed to have taken-for-granted cohesive qualities which can be used to address the challenges of living in an era of super-mobility and super-diversity. I argue that neither of these polarised positions is helpful and that a more nuanced and emotionally attentive understanding of nation is required. I begin by arguing that current engagements with the nature and contemporary significance of nations are curiously narrow. Then, drawing on my work on the emotional geographies of ‘Scottishness’, I demonstrate why we need a more meaningful engagement with the nation and suggest one possible route – an engagement with the practices and emotional experiences of nation – through which this might be achieved.
Nation and nationalism are powerful political ideas whose tenacity has intrigued social scientist... more Nation and nationalism are powerful political ideas whose tenacity has intrigued social scientists since the 1920s. Many academic commentators recognise that the power and persistence of nation and nationalism is underpinned by the emotional attachments that people have to these ideas. However, few consider why or how these political phenomena gain their emotional power. This thesis challenges these omissions by thinking about the emotional geographies which (re)produce and maintain Scottish national identities. In order to access the emotional content of `Scottishness' the empirical research focuses on musical performances; a medium of expression which has always been recognised for its emotional engagements. Drawing on research carried out at two `Scottish' music festivals-Celtic Connections and T in the Parkthis work employs a mix of experimental and more conventional qualitative methods ranging from participant sensing to in-depth interviews. My methodological approach attempts to engage with the established conviction that identity is a dynamic process in a positive and meaningful way. The research therefore attempts to capture Scottish identities in the making; it focuses both on what `Scottishness' is, and on what `Scottishness' might become. More specifically this work is concerned on the one hand with how `Scottishness' is (re)presented and recognised through musical forms and idioms, and, on the other hand, with how Scottish characteristics are constituted through performance and listening practices. One of the main arguments made is that ideas of nation, nationalism and national identity gain their emotional power from their capacity to allow people to feel secure, temporally connected and socially and culturally rooted. Musical performances seem to inspire the shared and `intimate' experiences that underpin such feelings. However, the argument is made that nationhood and nationalism are not the only or the most equitable or useful political vehicles through which these emotional geographies can be channelled. Indeed, the same emotional geographies could inform the establishment and maintenance of alternative socio-political structures that deliver wellbeing in more effective and just ways. 2 Introduction suggests one way to access tacit knowledges is to study the performances and practices that inform our knowing. In the context of my interest in the emotional `black box' of nation and nationalism it seems that focusing on a study of musical performances could be one route to understanding how nations and nationalism gain their emotional power. Music is widely recognised as a medium of communication
inescapable condition. Searching for the conceptual roots which underpin this inescapability, the... more inescapable condition. Searching for the conceptual roots which underpin this inescapability, the book excavates the works of Max Weber and Jean Jacques Rousseau. Amidst feelings of disenchantment and a nihilistic rationalization brought about by modernity, Weber is said to herald the nation as a source of meaningful life; whereas Rousseau, despite the fact that he was writing before the nationalist idea was propagated by the French Revolution, is presented as having been instrumental in justifying political and cultural unity as a response to the loss of a sense of community in the passage from the natural to the modern world. These narratives are used by the Author to explain why nationalism remains so persistent in today's world. As a way to move away from a nationalist logic of unity, homogeneity, and linearity, both in space and in time, the book engages with sites of memory in post-Holocaust Berlin and with everyday urban encounters. Both are used to illustrate a politics of coexistence organized not around identity, agreement, commonality and shared meanings, but formed through crossings, exchanges, and disagreements, as best captured in Nancy's (2003) concept of the mêlée. The book certainly offers an elegant account of the limits of national politics, yet the 'solution' it proposes seems neither very convincing nor to fully encompass Nancy's reasoning. The critique of nationalism itself also seems in need of further specification. Let me first start with this latter point. The association of the nation(al) with a unified space, subject and time reads too simplistically. A reading certainly true when we look at the nationalistic rhetoric of 19 th-20 th centuries, but a reading which fails to capture how today the nation is increasingly
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2007
Like every other work of art, music has become the stuff of social research: it has been interrog... more Like every other work of art, music has become the stuff of social research: it has been interrogated for its economy, its politics, and its role in elaborating human life. Music has its geographies too: its cultural landscapes; its positioning in a soundworld; its embodiment; its materiality. But, intriguingly, until recently musical methodologies have remained half formed, fragmentary, hidden, elusive, out of sight, beyond words. This is partly a result of disciplinary histories and an unhelpful division of intellectual labour; it is partly an expression of what music is. This paper is a performance enacted to assemble the field of musical methodologies: to enlarge its scope; to engage with its strengths and limitations; to animate the soundworld; to participate in the art of doing and being (geographies of) music.
Jewish identities are becoming increasingly pluralised due to internal dynamics within Judaism an... more Jewish identities are becoming increasingly pluralised due to internal dynamics within Judaism and wider social processes such as secularisation, globalisation and individualisation. However, empirical research on contemporary Jewish identities often continues to adopt restrictive methodological and conceptual approaches that reify Jewish identity and portray it as a ‘product’ for educational providers and others to pass to younger generations. Moreover, these approaches typically impose identities upon individuals, often as a form of collective affiliation, without addressing their personal significance. In response, this article argues for increased recognition of the multiple and fluid nature of personal identities in order to investigate the diverse ways in which Jews live and perform their Jewishness. Paying greater attention to personal identities facilitates recognition of the intersections between different forms of identity, enabling more complex understandings of the ways ...
From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace... more From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace the idea of a ‘unified’ identity with the concept of dynamic, multiple and fractured identities. However, it has been suggested that there is an ontological problem with researching dynamic conceptions of identity and that all too often people treat forming and formative processes (such as the makings and doings of identity) as fixed and formed wholes. This article attempts to address this concern through an exploration of the ‘doings’ of Scottish national identities. Drawing on a nonrepresentational inspired study of (‘Scottish’) musical performances the project presented in this article seeks to explore how a study of the ephemeral, emotionally charged moments of (‘Scottish’) musical performance might shed new light on the nature and (re)production of Scottish national identities in the making or the doing. This article therefore makes a contribution to understandings of ‘Scottishness...
The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, ... more The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.
From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace... more From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace the idea of a ‘unified’ identity with the concept of dynamic, multiple and fractured identities. However, it has been suggested that there is an ontological problem with researching dynamic conceptions of identity and that all too often people treat forming and formative processes (such as the makings and doings of identity) as fixed and formed wholes. This article attempts to address this concern through an exploration of the ‘doings’ of Scottish national identities. Drawing on a nonrepresentational inspired study of (‘Scottish’) musical performances the project presented in this article seeks to explore how a study of the ephemeral, emotionally charged moments of (‘Scottish’) musical performance might shed new light on the nature and (re)production of Scottish national identities in the making or the doing. This article therefore makes a contribution to understandings of ‘Scottishness’ (as lived experiences), but, it also makes a contribution to the geographies of music literature by highlighting the need to further explore the practical and performative dimensions of ‘musicking’.
Emotional experiences and relationships have traditionally been marginalized in human geography d... more Emotional experiences and relationships have traditionally been marginalized in human geography despite their impact on all aspects of social life. We argue, however, that understanding emotions is crucial for appreciating how the world of human (inter)actions works. To develop this argument we address two key questions. First, we ask how it is possible for social scientists to access the intimate emotional content of human affairs. One answer to this lies in settings where the emotional dimensions of social relations are deliberately and routinely enhanced. The example we take is that of musical performance. Second, we consider what might be done with these emotional ways of knowing once they have been acquired. What relevance does emotional knowing and being have? To address this, we turn to the relatively neglected concept of social well‐being, and we outline some ways in which ‘musicking’ might be used to promote it. These include music as therapy; music as a way of enhancing quality of life; and music as a medium of empowerment.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 2003
The past four decades have seen a number of works emerge that comment on the nature of culture an... more The past four decades have seen a number of works emerge that comment on the nature of culture and its diffusion and transformation in the United States, including Daniel Boorstin's The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events
The role of the nation in the contemporary cosmopolitan era is hotly contested. In some quarters ... more The role of the nation in the contemporary cosmopolitan era is hotly contested. In some quarters the nation is perceived to be a divisive relic which needs to be replaced by a more inclusive cosmopolitan alternative. Elsewhere the nation is assumed to have taken-for-granted cohesive qualities which can be used to address the challenges of living in an era of super-mobility and super-diversity. I argue that neither of these polarised positions is helpful and that a more nuanced and emotionally attentive understanding of nation is required. I begin by arguing that current engagements with the nature and contemporary significance of nations are curiously narrow. Then, drawing on my work on the emotional geographies of ‘Scottishness’, I demonstrate why we need a more meaningful engagement with the nation and suggest one possible route – an engagement with the practices and emotional experiences of nation – through which this might be achieved.
Nation and nationalism are powerful political ideas whose tenacity has intrigued social scientist... more Nation and nationalism are powerful political ideas whose tenacity has intrigued social scientists since the 1920s. Many academic commentators recognise that the power and persistence of nation and nationalism is underpinned by the emotional attachments that people have to these ideas. However, few consider why or how these political phenomena gain their emotional power. This thesis challenges these omissions by thinking about the emotional geographies which (re)produce and maintain Scottish national identities. In order to access the emotional content of `Scottishness' the empirical research focuses on musical performances; a medium of expression which has always been recognised for its emotional engagements. Drawing on research carried out at two `Scottish' music festivals-Celtic Connections and T in the Parkthis work employs a mix of experimental and more conventional qualitative methods ranging from participant sensing to in-depth interviews. My methodological approach attempts to engage with the established conviction that identity is a dynamic process in a positive and meaningful way. The research therefore attempts to capture Scottish identities in the making; it focuses both on what `Scottishness' is, and on what `Scottishness' might become. More specifically this work is concerned on the one hand with how `Scottishness' is (re)presented and recognised through musical forms and idioms, and, on the other hand, with how Scottish characteristics are constituted through performance and listening practices. One of the main arguments made is that ideas of nation, nationalism and national identity gain their emotional power from their capacity to allow people to feel secure, temporally connected and socially and culturally rooted. Musical performances seem to inspire the shared and `intimate' experiences that underpin such feelings. However, the argument is made that nationhood and nationalism are not the only or the most equitable or useful political vehicles through which these emotional geographies can be channelled. Indeed, the same emotional geographies could inform the establishment and maintenance of alternative socio-political structures that deliver wellbeing in more effective and just ways. 2 Introduction suggests one way to access tacit knowledges is to study the performances and practices that inform our knowing. In the context of my interest in the emotional `black box' of nation and nationalism it seems that focusing on a study of musical performances could be one route to understanding how nations and nationalism gain their emotional power. Music is widely recognised as a medium of communication
inescapable condition. Searching for the conceptual roots which underpin this inescapability, the... more inescapable condition. Searching for the conceptual roots which underpin this inescapability, the book excavates the works of Max Weber and Jean Jacques Rousseau. Amidst feelings of disenchantment and a nihilistic rationalization brought about by modernity, Weber is said to herald the nation as a source of meaningful life; whereas Rousseau, despite the fact that he was writing before the nationalist idea was propagated by the French Revolution, is presented as having been instrumental in justifying political and cultural unity as a response to the loss of a sense of community in the passage from the natural to the modern world. These narratives are used by the Author to explain why nationalism remains so persistent in today's world. As a way to move away from a nationalist logic of unity, homogeneity, and linearity, both in space and in time, the book engages with sites of memory in post-Holocaust Berlin and with everyday urban encounters. Both are used to illustrate a politics of coexistence organized not around identity, agreement, commonality and shared meanings, but formed through crossings, exchanges, and disagreements, as best captured in Nancy's (2003) concept of the mêlée. The book certainly offers an elegant account of the limits of national politics, yet the 'solution' it proposes seems neither very convincing nor to fully encompass Nancy's reasoning. The critique of nationalism itself also seems in need of further specification. Let me first start with this latter point. The association of the nation(al) with a unified space, subject and time reads too simplistically. A reading certainly true when we look at the nationalistic rhetoric of 19 th-20 th centuries, but a reading which fails to capture how today the nation is increasingly
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 2007
Like every other work of art, music has become the stuff of social research: it has been interrog... more Like every other work of art, music has become the stuff of social research: it has been interrogated for its economy, its politics, and its role in elaborating human life. Music has its geographies too: its cultural landscapes; its positioning in a soundworld; its embodiment; its materiality. But, intriguingly, until recently musical methodologies have remained half formed, fragmentary, hidden, elusive, out of sight, beyond words. This is partly a result of disciplinary histories and an unhelpful division of intellectual labour; it is partly an expression of what music is. This paper is a performance enacted to assemble the field of musical methodologies: to enlarge its scope; to engage with its strengths and limitations; to animate the soundworld; to participate in the art of doing and being (geographies of) music.
Jewish identities are becoming increasingly pluralised due to internal dynamics within Judaism an... more Jewish identities are becoming increasingly pluralised due to internal dynamics within Judaism and wider social processes such as secularisation, globalisation and individualisation. However, empirical research on contemporary Jewish identities often continues to adopt restrictive methodological and conceptual approaches that reify Jewish identity and portray it as a ‘product’ for educational providers and others to pass to younger generations. Moreover, these approaches typically impose identities upon individuals, often as a form of collective affiliation, without addressing their personal significance. In response, this article argues for increased recognition of the multiple and fluid nature of personal identities in order to investigate the diverse ways in which Jews live and perform their Jewishness. Paying greater attention to personal identities facilitates recognition of the intersections between different forms of identity, enabling more complex understandings of the ways ...
From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace... more From the mid-1980s the influence of identity politics and poststructuralism has sought to replace the idea of a ‘unified’ identity with the concept of dynamic, multiple and fractured identities. However, it has been suggested that there is an ontological problem with researching dynamic conceptions of identity and that all too often people treat forming and formative processes (such as the makings and doings of identity) as fixed and formed wholes. This article attempts to address this concern through an exploration of the ‘doings’ of Scottish national identities. Drawing on a nonrepresentational inspired study of (‘Scottish’) musical performances the project presented in this article seeks to explore how a study of the ephemeral, emotionally charged moments of (‘Scottish’) musical performance might shed new light on the nature and (re)production of Scottish national identities in the making or the doing. This article therefore makes a contribution to understandings of ‘Scottishness...
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