The Soul Sung to Destruction: Music as an Instrument of Torture
摘要
The use of music in connection with torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment has been documented in many countries over an extensive period of time. Music torture, as we call this here, generally takes one of the two basic forms: exposure to music, often for long periods or at strategic moments, or forcing people to perform musical activities, especially singing. Music torture is rarely, if ever, the only form of torture used in such situations. Many survivors, however, have said that forms of torture in which music played a role were among the worst practices that they experienced during their imprisonment. In this chapter, we use three short case studies to draw attention to this topic and to sketch the possible consequences both for research and practice.