Knowledge Architectures: Mapping Virtual Processes of Digital-Musical Heritagization in Formal and Grassroots Jewish Communities in Montreal

This project is an interdisciplinary investigation of the music in online communities or digitally-oriented aspects in Jewish institutions and groups based in Montreal and the surrounding area. This project fully supports the intern’s career growth by stimulating a rich inquiry into the diversity of the intangible heritage of Jewish Montreal; in so doing it is also broadly impactful in that it 1. highlights the importance of intangible cultural heritage in virtual grassroots environments 2. dismantles bounded perceptions of minorities in Quebec by engaging with the inherently transnational and intercultural dynamics of minority communities in the here-and-now; 3. destabilizes polarized conceptualizations of minority-state relations by highlighting minority agency, creativity, and sustainability 4. has an important nuancing and humanizing impact, which is particularly important in a situation in which there has been a record rise in global antisemitism and other hate-oriented (racist, transphobic, Islamophobic, and other) agendas. The project will form a precedent for further collaborative research between the Institute for Canadian Jewish Studies at Concordia University and its arts and music focus under its new director, and the ongoing major research on Jewish cultural heritage at the European Centre for Jewish Music in Hanover, Germany.

Faculty Supervisor:

Miranda Crowdus

Student:

Partner:

Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover (HMTMH)

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Life Sciences (not health); Sustainability & the Environment; New and Digital Media

University:

Concordia University

Program: