Cultural salvation and Music Education

residues of colonization processes in the Brazilian Northeast

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-6377.2025.58955

Keywords:

Colonization, Cultural Salvation, Social Projects, Sociology of Music Education, Weber and Music Education

Abstract

This theoretical discussion deepens the data from my doctoral research and introduces new elements to reflect on the concept of Cultural Salvation (CS). It outlines key characteristics of CS identified through a review of literature in Music Education and the Social Sciences. Between January 2022 and July 2023, I conducted ethnographic fieldwork at the Ilha de Música Social Project, located in the África Community in Natal, Brasil. I identify three central elements of CS: the metaphysical veil of music’s power, the ritualistic order, and the transformation process. Understanding CS as an exercise of power is essential for music educators. This awareness supports a critical, inclusive approach to music education for children and adolescents living in socially unequal conditions. The text concludes by raising questions that seek to reconstruct musical practices within social projects, aiming to challenge and overcome the structural foundations of inequality embedded in the idea of Cultural Salvation.

Author Biography

  • Andersonn Henrique Araújo, State University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

    Holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (2009), a Master's degree in Music from the same institution (2015), and a Ph.D. in Social Sciences with a research focus on Music Education (2024) from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, including a research internship at the University of Western Ontario (Canada). Currently serves as Professor at the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN). He is a researcher in the Research Group on Pensamento Complexo (GECOM/UERN) and the Research Group on Perspectivas em Educação Musical  (GPPEM/UERN). His expertise lies in the field of Arts, with an emphasis on Music Education, particularly in the following areas: teacher training, social programs, complexity theory and culture, non-formal contexts of music teaching, and the sociology of music.

References

Araújo, Andersonn Henrique (2024). A salvação cultural no ensino de música em projetos sociais (Tese de doutorado, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte). Repositório Institucional da UFRN.

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Published

2025-07-26

Issue

Vol. 26 (2025): General Topics

Section

Articles

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How to Cite

“Cultural Salvation and Music Education: Residues of Colonization Processes in the Brazilian Northeast”. 2025. Per Musi 26 (July): 1-16. https://doi.org/10.35699/2317-6377.2025.58955.