Community music as tool for social integration of immigrants

Abstract

En master oppgave om community music prosjekter som kan vi bruk som tiltak for sosial integraring av innvandrere i Norge. Denne oppgaven er en case study av tre forskjellige caser hvor begrepet av community music er i brukt som en tiltak til å hjelpe innvandrere til å integrere i det norske samfunnet.

Norway has received a great number of immigrants from different parts of the world during the last four decades. People that for diverse reasons have come to Norway in search of better life conditions, work, refuge, or family reunion. After 1970 and world political conflicts migration to Norway increased creating significant challenges for the Norwegian government. The challenge to succeed to integrate these immigrants into the Norwegian society can vary in degree. Some immigrants need more support and efforts to adjust than others depending on their cultural background. This thesis analyses Community Music projects that have been implemented as a measure to enhance the social integration process of immigrants. It will focus on some of the most significant challenges that immigrants face to successfully integrate to Norwegian society which are language and cultural identity. Language and cultural background are some of the most essential elements of an individual’s identity and it can cause great conflict for both receiving and coming population. Therefore, this thesis explores the use of music as therapy applied through artistic projects as a tool to enhance communication and understanding in the new culturally diverse Norwegian society. Through the study of three cases where music performances and workshops are used as a measure for integration this thesis searches to set in light the theories of Even Ruud´s, Stuart Hall, and Gary Ansdell on music and identity, Pierre Bourdieu on habitus and field and Lee Higgins and Kari Veblen on community music practice. The selection of the cases feeds on the legitimation of concrete artistic and cultural measures at both local and national level. The main objective of this thesis is to find out how can community music practices and artistic expressions can be used as a tool to enhance social integration of immigrants when language represents a great barrier and the increasing attention to music as a bridge builder between cultures. The thesis consists of six parts. The first chapter presents introduction of the thesis. Second the background that led to the topic of research. The third chapter explains the theoretical framework where the analysis is funded. Fourth consists of the methodology approach followed in this thesis and fifth the presentation of the three cases to be analyzed. Sixth the analysis and discussion of the cases and seventh chapter addresses the conclusions and further suggestions of measures and research.