The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution

Commendation Quotes: A monumental study addressing a sorely neglected aspect of one of the last century's most dramatic geopolitical upheavals. This book will stand, for years and even decades to come, as the standard, authoritative source on its topic. Table of Contents: Acknowledgments Introduction: Three Nonviolent National Cultures 1. Balts Speak to America, July 4, 1998 2. Herder's Discovery of Baltic Songs 3. Three Singing Nations and Their Songs 4. Songs of Warrior Nations 5. Soviet Power versus Power of the Powerless 6. Living within the Truth in Choral Songs 7. Living within the Truth in Rock Songs 8. Living within the Truth in Folk Songs 9. Nonviolent National Singing Traditions Appendix I: Index and Map of Place Names Appendix II: Chronology Appendix III: Song Annotations and Index Notes Bibliography, Discography, and Filmography IndexReview Quotes: "The Power of Song serves not only as the quintessential study of what constitutes the heart of the remarkable and inspiring movements of the Baltic people, it will stand as a distinct contribution to the study of civil resistance movements overall." -Peter Ackerman, founding chair of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict and co-author of Strategic Nonviolent Conflict and A Force More PowerfulReview Quotes: The book features 112 songs connected to the Singing Revolution.... Smidchens explores the context of each song - both the events at which it was sung and the speeches that surrounded it - and delves into political science theory and music therapy to better understand how songs became powerful tools of protest.--Perspectives Newsletter"University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences" (01/01/2013) Commendation Quotes: An excellent and thorough work and a significant and important addition to our understanding of the role that folklore and popular culture play in shaping political events. Biographical Note: Guntis Smidchens is the Kazickas Family Endowed Professor in Baltic Studies in the Scandinavian studies department at the University of Washington. Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Review Quotes: "The book features 112 songs connected to the Singing Revolution. . . . midchens explores the context of each song--both the events at which it was sung and the speeches that surrounded it--and delves into political science theory and music therapy to better understand how songs became powerful tools of protest." -"Perspectives Newsletter," University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences, December 2013"Commendation Quotes: "The Power of Song" serves not only as the quintessential study of what constitutes the heart of the remarkable and inspiring movements of the Baltic people, it will stand as a distinct contribution to the study of civil resistance movements overall. Review Quotes: An exceptional study, outstanding, and gently unconventional... The Power of Song is a true achievement. Surpassing this book will be a difficult task, not least because very few scholars are able to conduct research in Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian... Reading this book was an enjoyable experience and I would recommend it to anybody interested in the culture and history of the Baltic states, nationalism, Herder, nonviolent political movements, singing, and the folklore movement.--Elo-Hanna Seljamaa"Journal of Folklore Research" (01/01/2014) Review Citations: Choice 07/01/2014 (EAN 9780295993102, Hardcover)