oa Between Activism and White Saviourism: Unpacking the Racial Dynamics of Multiculturalism in Ethnomusicology and World Music

This chapter explores critically how the ideology of multiculturalism has influenced music research and the activist identity its application has included. The chapter first discusses multiculturalism as an ideology broadly and then connects it to the focus on the concept of culture in ethnomusicological research. This is followed by looking at similar issues in the the field of global music and analysing the work of music producer Ian Brennan as a case study in white saviourism. The chapter concludes with proposing a pivot from multiculturalism to a more explicit anti-racist stance in research.

Keywords: activist identity ; Anti-racist activism ; Decolonisation in music research ; Field work ; Global majority ; Global music ; Multiculturalism ; The other ; White saviourism ; World music