Sociological and Anthropological Perspectives on the Notion of “The Other” in Studies on Music Cultures

The main objective of this paper is to utilize sociological and anthropological approaches to examine the contexts of the notion of “the other” in studies on music cultures. Given the fact that music-related studies represent a relatively small portion of the essential framework of both sociology and anthropology, analyses of the production, the representation and the consumption of music lay weight on culture and identity related issues. In this respect, this paper suggests that earlier ethnomusicological studies premeditate a far away other whereas the postcolonial anthropology of music envisions a collateral other. On the other hand, the sociology of music, with its macro approach, is primarily interested in the music cultures within industrial, urban, and modern societies. Therefore, by taking into account the impact of culture industries, it conceives of a bilateral other particularly with regard to subcultural music and popular music studies. In accordance with the blurred boundaries of our post-industrial era, this article asserts an expanding intersection set for the conceptualization of “the other” within both the sociology and the anthropology of music