Explore the function of music and song in shaping a shared feeling of community and identity. What are the social effects of music and how can music be used to ‘move the masses’?
Moving the Masses
From national anthems, political campaign music or propaganda songs, to protest movements, arena concerts, festivals and fan culture – music has a social dimension; it can connect people and contribute to the formation of collective identities. In this lecture, we look at the influence of music on the collective, and the function of music and song in shaping a shared feeling of community and identity. What are the social effects of music and how can music be used to ‘move the masses’? Explore what role it can play in national identity construction and contemporary populism. To what extent can music mobilize collective emotions, and what are the implications of this?
About Melanie Schiller
Dr. Melanie Schiller is Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Popular Music at the Faculty of Arts of Groningen University, where she teaches courses on contemporary audiovisual arts and popular music, politics and resistance. Schiller has done extensive research and published widely on national identity and is the author of Soundtracking Germany: Popular Music and National Identity (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). Her areas of expertise include music and nationalism, media and popular music studies. Currently, Schiller works on music and populism in the project entitled “Popular Music as a Medium for the Mainstreaming of Populist Ideologies in Europe”, financed by the Volkswagen Foundation.
About Lecture Series ‘How Music Works’
Music is probably an everyday phenomenon in your life. But do you ever think about the why and how of music? What drove the evolution of music? And how does it affect us humans, both as individuals and as society? Explore what is known about the mechanisms of music in this programme organized in collaboration with WSKOV (Wageningen Student Choir and Orchestra Association), and enjoy live music by WSKOV members.