The Sound of Political Change in Myanmar

Tuesday, March 03, 2015, 7:30-9 p.m.
MMaP Gallery, second floor, Arts & Culture Centre, St. John's

Public talk by Dr. Gavin Douglas (University of North Carolina at Greensboro). Presented as part of the MMaP Lecture Series. Admission is free. The past two decades have witnessed tremendous political unrest in Burma/Myanmar. Minority separatist movements, economic stagnation, chronic detention of political prisoners and a multitude of other obstacles have plagued the history of this once prosperous nation. Focusing on a wide variety of cases, supplemented by audio and video examples, ethnomusicologist Dr. Gavin Douglas questions what role music has played in this tumultuous history. Not simply reflective of society, the role of music in Myanmar’s politics is not neutral but has been tied to the policies of the oppressing dictatorship and the pro-democracy resistance movements. From national unity festivals to monastic revolutions and from education policy to pro-democracy Internet campaigns, music has been a tool to both justify oppression and demand liberation and has been an active force in Myanmar’s struggles. For more information, please contact Meghan Forsyth, at mforsyth@mun.ca or 864-2051.


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