Journals Information
Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 4(5), pp. 320 - 330
DOI: 10.13189/sa.2016.040504
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Conversion Strategies and the Power to Define: British and American Muslim Performance in Bourdieu's Field of Art
Yolanda van Tilborgh 1,2,*
1 Faculty of Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands
2 Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
ABSTRACT
When a number of Muslims in non-Muslim majority countries in North America and Western Europe gained attention as upcoming performers in the genres of hip-hop, stand-up comedy and performing poetry in the last decades, this was perceived as a remarkable phenomenon by public media and social scientists. Firstly, a lot of these performers bring Islam to the fore in their artistic expressions in the public domain, whereas, secondly, the relation between art and Islam is perceived as troublesome at various social levels. While gaining visibility after the multiple terrorist attacks, the phenomenon of entertaining Muslims is often understood as an expression of post-Islamism, the attitude of tolerance in Islamism that synthesizes contrasting opinions. Expressions of Muslims are explained as "purposeful art" and the performing arts as a repertoire to diffuse (positive) Islamic values. To comprehend the complex manifestations of religion in modern day societies as reflected by these trends, existing social perspectives are now no longer considered satisfactory. The forthcoming paper examines if the perspectives of symbolic interactionist, process and relational sociology are indeed insufficient to discuss and explain several significant understandings of Muslims, their practices and discourse regarding (popular) art. Do all of these artists equally pursue art with a social purpose? Are Islamic authoritative voices significant to everyone? Or do the artists follow wayward conversion strategies in order to achieve their objectives and become established?
KEYWORDS
Muslim Performing Artists, Field of Art, Ethnicity in Islam, Islamic Conversion, Immigrants, Cultural Distinction, Defining Power, Conversion Strategies
Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Yolanda van Tilborgh , "Conversion Strategies and the Power to Define: British and American Muslim Performance in Bourdieu's Field of Art," Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 320 - 330, 2016. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2016.040504.
(b). APA Format:
Yolanda van Tilborgh (2016). Conversion Strategies and the Power to Define: British and American Muslim Performance in Bourdieu's Field of Art. Sociology and Anthropology, 4(5), 320 - 330. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2016.040504.