Songs of the South African AIDS Crisis

Using the concept of musical effervescence, a collective state of synchronized and focused intersubjectivity through music, Gavin Robert Walker reveals how and why songs have become such a ubiquitous and formidable force within the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Drawing from a rich cultural history, this book connects music within human life to discover how collective singing is an expression of our shared humanity. This fascinating analysis confronts interpersonal musical experiences by answering the following questions: what about these experiences become deeply personal and fundamentally social?, how can music be applicable for such a wide range of outcomes?, and what can musical effervescence contribute to our understanding of the arts and social, emotional, or physical wellness? Walker challenges conventional thinking on the universal qualities of music by focusing on the bonds that music cultivates through movement, perception, experience, and perspective.

Product details

• Authors: Gavin Robert Walker
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 07.08.2025
• EAN: 9781666928525
• ISBN: 978-1-66692-852-5
• No. of pages: 256
• Subjects: Music, MEDICAL / AIDS & HIV, MUSIC / Ethnomusicology, Personal & public health, Sociology: sexual relations, Sociology & anthropology, Sociology and anthropology, Personal and public health / health education, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / African Studies