Music, Culture, and the Politics of Health

Music, Culture, and the Politics of Health is an ethnographic work that explores the social, cultural, and political dynamics that impinge upon the HIV/AIDS discourse in South Africa and how they find expression in music. The book reveals the interconnections of the local and global culture and politics of HIV/AIDS.

Austin C. Okigbo is assistant professor of ethnomusicology at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Chapter One:Introduction: Towards Ethnography of AIDS Music in a South African Experience Chapter Two:The Making of the Siphithemba Choir Chapter Three:Music and Epidemics in South Africa Chapter Four:"We are a family"- Musical Space as Social Space of Communal Action Chapter Five:"We Sing with One Mind and Purpose": Expressing Spirituality and Sociocultural Experience Chapter Six:Creative Processes and Musical Stylistics Chapter Seven:Dance without Drum: Playing the Politics of Culture in the Context of an Epidemic Chapter Eight:The Siphithemba in Politics of Identity and Representation Chapter Nine:Conclusion: Reflections on Siphithemba Choir and the Politics of AIDS and Health