Music and Manipulation: On the Social Uses and Social Control of Music - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845450981 ISBN 13: 9781845450984

Publisher: Berghahn Books, 2005

Synopsis

Since the beginning of human civilization, music has been used as a device to control social behavior, where it has operated as much to promote solidarity within groups as hostility between competing groups. Music is an emotive manipulator that influences attitude, motivation and behavior at many levels and in many contexts. This volume is the first to address the social ramifications of music’s behaviorally manipulative effects, its morally questionable uses and control mechanisms, and its economic and artistic regulation through commercialization, thus highlighting not only music’s diverse uses at the social level but also the ever-fragile relationship between aesthetics and morality.

About this title

About the Author

Steven Brown is a researcher in cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He received his doctorate at Columbia University in New York, and has done research at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. His research deals with the neural basis of human communication, including the arts.

Review

“This valuable and timely book provides an overview of various theoretical approaches to the uses and meaning of music, particularly in view of its capacity to influence people...In all, several important issues are raised in chapters of this book, and are also addressed, either in the same chapter or in one by another author.”  ·  Musicae Scientiae

“...a valuable addition/complement to the musicological literature thanks to the critically examined current debates about the uses and consequences of music. [In addition, the book offers] many concise overviews of present research on music and manipulation. As such it is suitable for graduate students but also more generally for people working in the media and music industry.”  ·  Swedish Journal of Musicology

“...a timely book that...sets a standard for a new field of study and therefore deserves to be read widely...[the volume’s] contributions contain fascinating material for further study.”  ·  International Institute for Asian Studies Newsletter

“Steven Brown and Ulrik Volgsten haveput together a valuable collection of essays on a consistently interesting theme. The book constitutes an important resource for the future development of this theme.”  ·  Music Perception

“...fascinating and challenging...this book, illustrates the diversity, the depth and the potential of the field of the sociology of music. As much as these texts enlighten, they also highlight the vastness of the research yet to be conducted. However, this book is far more than just a compilation of papers presented at a conference, they are relevant discussions to anybody who turns on the radio, purchases or downloads a record or even sings a lullaby.”  ·  Leonardo Digital Reviews

About this edition

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1845450981
• ISBN 13: 9781845450984
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400
• Editor: Brown Steven, Volgsten Ulrik