Music behind bars: exploring the role of music as a tool for rehabilitation and empowerment of offenders at Mthatha Medium Correctional Centre.
Date
2012-04-10
Authors
Twani, Zoliswa
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Abstract
My interest in conducting this empirical research exploring music as a tool for rehabilitation and
empowerment of prison offenders was sparked by my observation in 2002 of the problematic use
of music at Mthatha Medium Correctional Centre (MMCC). Music activities were simply a
microcosm of music activities outside prison, and despite the existence of the National Offenders
Choir Competitions (NOCC) since 1997, neither offenders nor Department of Correctional
Services (DCS) Officials seemed to regard participation in such activities as music education, let
alone rehabilitative or empowering. In 2007 I conducted a one-year Participatory Action
Research project of four cycles or stages, in the prison, intended to work towards developing and
improving musical, self-reflexive, and other life skills. I then used Michel Foucault’s notion of
‘panopticism’ (1978) and Paulo Freire’s theory of ‘conscientização’ (1970) to intepret the music
styles, practices, and performances developed during the project and their impact on those
involved.
Two central questions underpinning this study are, ‘To what extent do music activities subvert
the watchfulness of the prison system and environment?’ and ‘How does music encourage
offenders to transcend their prisoner status and reinvent their lives as musicians ‘behind bars’,
better able to reintegrate into society as rehabilitated citizens?’ Through narrative enquiry and
thematic content analysis I examine how the participants’ critical consciousness about music and
about themselves was raised and the way in which the praxis (reflection and action) method had
changed their lives. In the light of the results from this approach and context, I devised a set of
recommendations for a music education curriculum for implementation in South African prisons,
Description
Ph.D., School of Music, Facultyof Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011