
From Craic to Communitas: Furthering disability activism through traditional Irish song
Abstract
This piece offers an ethnographic account of work undertaken to bridge neurotypical and neurodivergent communities in Limerick, Ireland, through music-making workshops. By harnessing a common musical heritage in traditional Irish folk music, specifically its participatory dynamics, and its emphasis on story-telling, dialogue and inclusion, participants were able to musicalize their identities in ways that resonated with the integrative spirit of neurodiversity, against the logics of neurotypical, able-bodied assimilation.
This piece offers an ethnographic account of work undertaken to bridge neurotypical and neurodivergent communities in Limerick, Ireland, through music-making workshops. By harnessing a common musical heritage in traditional Irish folk music, specifically its participatory dynamics, and its emphasis on story-telling, dialogue and inclusion, participants were able to musicalize their identities in ways that resonated with the integrative spirit of neurodiversity, against the logics of neurotypical, able-bodied assimilation.
Keywords: Irish folk music; accessibility; disability; ethnography; inclusion; neurodiversity
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: October 1, 2019
- JIVS provides a forum for scholarly and practice-based engagement with voice as a phenomenon of communication and performance, and a methodology or metaphor for analysis. This peer-reviewed journal draws on an interdisciplinary series of lenses, including cultural studies, critical theory, performance studies, inter-culturalism, linguistics, visual culture, musicology, architecture and somatics.
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