The double game of music: Paradoxes of power, status and class in music education (Music and Society)

The double game of music: Paradoxes of power, status and class in music education (Music and Society)

The double game of music imagines music education as a series of games – each with its own rules, play currency and players – to challenge readers to rethink the significance of music and musical upbringing in shaping social structures. Drawing on their own empirical research and a wide range of international contributions, the authors unravel the intertwining of social positioning and power hierarchies with players beliefs in the pure values and virtues of their games, whether these relate to parenting, children’s play, schooling, academic pursuits, musical leisure activities or the television and music industries. In a world where music is often celebrated as an important tool for inclusion and democratisation, this groundbreaking book offers a timely critique, revealing complexities and contradictions that tend to be overlooked by teachers, researchers, politicians and others interested in the powers of music education. The double game of music offers a critical analysis of the complex social dynamics of music education at a time when the power of music to promote inclusion and democratisation is often taken for granted. Inspired by Huizinga, Foucault, Bourdieu and other theorists who have explored the analytical potential of the ‘game’ as a metaphor for social interaction, the book employs the game metaphor to investigate the intricate interplay of social relations in various contexts of musical upbringing. These contexts include parenting, children’s play, leisure activities, talent education, schooling, academia, and the music and television industries. Throughout the book, the Norwegian welfare state model of education serves as a salient case to expose the misrecognised and even hidden power dynamics within systems designed to promote equality and social mobility. By examining players’ belief in the games they play, the intertwinement of material and symbolic economies and the relations of specific educational games to the broader field of social power, the authors unravel the mechanisms of power, status, and class that determine who gets to play the games of music education, and how. With its rich theoretical insights and nuanced analysis, grounded in empirical examples and drawing extensively on international contributions, The double game of music contributes with a timely reminder that music matters in complex, often contradictory ways. It is not just a book about the social regulation of music education; it’s about the pivotal role music education plays in the ongoing struggle for social justice, equity and cultural understanding. Professor Live Weider Ellefsen, University of Inland Norway Professor Petter Dyndahl, University of Inland Norway Professor Siw Graabræk Nielsen, The Norwegian Academy of Music Associate Professor Anne Jordhus-Lier, University of Inland Norway