What does this research mean for the field?

In post-colonial Mozambique, disputes over the definition of 'African music' on national radio functioned as a contested site for negotiating racialized, territorial, and historical imaginaries of 'Africanness' within FRELIMO's nation-building project. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how musical categorization functioned as a core political and ideological battleground within FRELIMO's nation-building agenda in post-colonial Mozambique.

August 28, 2026Nations and Nationalism

What Is ‘African Music’? Musical Categorization and Nation Building in Post‐Colonial Mozambique

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Authors

MFMarco Roque de Freitas

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Overview

Historical ethnography reveals how radio programming debates negotiated contested cultural identities in post-colonial Mozambique, highlighting music's political role in nation-building projects.

Key Points

To examine how musical categorization functioned as a core political and ideological battleground within FRELIMO's nation-building agenda in post-colonial Mozambique.
Conducted an 'ethnography of the past' focusing on a polarized 1981 public debate over musical programming on Mozambique's national radio station.
Analyzed archival radio listener correspondence alongside qualitative interviews with key radio producers, broadcasters, and cultural officials.
Demonstrated that national radio music programming served both as an instrument for revolutionary state values and as a contested arena for racialized and territorial notions of 'Africanness'.
Showed that public disputes over music categories mirrored unresolved political tensions in FRELIMO's history and signaled emerging cultural shifts in Mozambique.

Cite This Study

Marco Roque de Freitas (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a91466cd15324a1df3a9f88 https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.70103

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August 28, 2026Nations and Nationalism

What Is ‘African Music’? Musical Categorization and Nation Building in Post‐Colonial Mozambique

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Authors

MFMarco Roque de Freitas

Discussion

Member takes

Overview

Historical ethnography reveals how radio programming debates negotiated contested cultural identities in post-colonial Mozambique, highlighting music's political role in nation-building projects.

Key Points

To examine how musical categorization functioned as a core political and ideological battleground within FRELIMO's nation-building agenda in post-colonial Mozambique.
Conducted an 'ethnography of the past' focusing on a polarized 1981 public debate over musical programming on Mozambique's national radio station.
Analyzed archival radio listener correspondence alongside qualitative interviews with key radio producers, broadcasters, and cultural officials.
Demonstrated that national radio music programming served both as an instrument for revolutionary state values and as a contested arena for racialized and territorial notions of 'Africanness'.
Showed that public disputes over music categories mirrored unresolved political tensions in FRELIMO's history and signaled emerging cultural shifts in Mozambique.

Cite This Study

Marco Roque de Freitas (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a91466cd15324a1df3a9f88 https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.70103

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark