Sonic Estrangement: The Role of Music in Preserving Space of White Exclusivity

Abstract

Music is often celebrated for bringing people together. Yet certain genres and their associated sonic markers can be mobilized to exclude groups. This paper considers the role of music in preserving spaces of near exclusive whiteness. It follows from my previous work on sonic belonging and the use of Black music to create racially inclusive spaces on historically White university campuses (Harrison, 2016). In a striking parallel to repressive understandings of race and ancestry, where the “one drop rule” restricted access to whiteness, I argue that popular varieties of Black music resonate with multiracial listening constituents, thus having the potential to engender intimate publics (Berlant, 2008; Shanks, 2014); in contrast, many varieties of music associated foremost with white musicians and audiences produce sensations of discomfort and estrangement for nonwhite listeners. Drawing from scholars like Steve Goodman (2010) and Tia DeNora (2000), who recognize music as a sonic force, as well as from Jenny Lynn Stover’s (2016) important insights regarding embodied listening, I make a theoretical argument based on findings from two previous works: (1) the aforementioned journal article about Black music on college campuses; (2) a conference presentation discussing the function of music at historically white recreational spaces (Harrison, 2022). Illuminating music’s role in creating feelings of sonic estrangement helps us to better understand the multiple ways that racism takes place (Lipsitz, 2011). As nonwhite artists increasingly embrace new subjectivities, seeking to unmoor themselves from conventionally racialized forms of expression, these processes of musical estrangement become a new sonic battlefield.