Music Writ Large: The Potential of Music in Peacebuilding

Abstract

Lederach argues that it is astounding that so little attention has been paid to music in the formal literature of peacebuilding. Poetic insights about the qualities of music are matched by more theoretical reflections on music’s potential to contribute to building peace in unexpected ways. Lederach’s chapter resonates with and builds upon his earlier 2010 work, When Blood and Bones Cry Out, which was written with his daughter, Angela Jill Lederach. Lederach explores how music writ large “evokes, provokes, and invokes.” He suggests that when approaching music and peacebuilding, we must enter through the doorway of soundscape, recognizing how music can evoke depth of meaning, provoke active responses and invoke engagements with and journeys through the past, present and future toward peace.