Musical Nationalism and Transnationalism in the “New Global Order”

Abstract

Ethnomusicology has been transformed over the last decade by globalization theory. Habits of thought and practice that specified the place of ‘other musics’, and the methods that were appropriate to them have been disrupted. New media and information technologies have introduced forms of transmission, ownership, sharing and differentiation whose dynamics and consequences continue to be fiercely contested, and continue to dominate discussion. This article attempts to expand the frame in which music making might be considered globally with attention to three localized sites of global encounter: situations of war and ethnic conflict, the circulation of music in border regions, and global cities. Examples are taken from the US/Iraq conflict, the Mexican/United States of America border region, and contemporary Istanbul.