Music and Cultural Theory

by Shepherd, John; Wicke, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780745608648
• ISBN10: 0745608647
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-08-15
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

In this book Shepherd and Wicke make a bold and original contribution to the understanding of music as a form of human expression. They argue that music is fundamental to social life. Music is not merely a form of leisure or entertainment: it is central to the very formation and reproduction of human societies. The authors pursue this argument through a wide-ranging assessment of some of the major cultural theoretical contributions to understanding music. Theories of culture, linguistic theories, structuralist and post-structuralist theories and psychoanalytic theories of music are carefully explained and critically examined. The authors then develop their own account of music as a non-referential yet material form of human expression which embodies and conveys principles of symbolic structuring. They emphasize the human body as a principal site for the musical mediation of social and symbolic processes. Music and Cultural Theory establishes new links between musicology and cultural studies, showing how each discipline can inform and enrich the other. It will be recommended reading for students and professionals in musicology, media and communication studies, cultural studies and the sociology of culture.

Author Biography

John Shepherd is the Chancellor's Professor of Music and Sociology at Carleton University in Canada. Professor Shepherd was from 1991-1997 the founding Director of Carleton's School for Studies in Art and Culture. His research interests include the aesthetics of music, popular music studies, theory and method in musicology, cultural studies, and the sociology of music education.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

The Problem of Affect and Meaning in Music

Music and Cultural Theory

Music and Psychoanalysis

Theorizing Difference in Language and Music

Music as a Medium in Sound

Music as Structure

Music's Semiological Moment

Music - a Performative Semiological Model

Music and Language in the Constitution of Society

Towards a Sociology of Sound

Bibliography

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.