Continuity or Change? How Migrants’ Musical Activities (Do not) Affect Ethnic Boundaries

Abstract

Our article discusses whether and how the musical activities of migrants and their descendants contribute to cultural change. Drawing on Andreas Wimmer’s work, we examine both the benefits and limitations of his ‘boundary-making approach.’ In so doing, we define cultural change as a transformation of ethnic boundaries. Based on the assumption that these boundaries arise from social classification, we shed light on the various processes that shape how musicians and their music are located in the symbolic order of internal identification and external categorisation. Following Wimmer, we suggest distinguishing between three fundamental modes of how social activities in the field of music affect boundaries: (1) Boundary changing, which includes boundary blurring and reinforcing; (2) boundary shifting, meaning the contraction and expansion of an ethnic boundary; and (3) boundary crossing, which occurs when an individual shifts sides and crosses a given boundary by changing their position. By adapting Wimmer’s typology, we aspire to provide a toolkit for analysing ethnic boundaries in the musical field and to contribute to the debate on the challenges of researching migrants’ impact on the social and cultural transformation of contemporary societies.