Encountering and mobilising senses of (non)belonging among asylum seekers in Greece: Refugees Musicking

This book examines how musical activities shape daily life in reception centres, connecting fragmented experiences, building cross-cultural relationships, maintaining personal identity, and creating transformative moments. This book examines how musical engagements shape daily life while seeking asylum, connecting fragmented life trajectories, building cross-cultural relationships, maintaining personal identity, and creating transformative moments. By exploring musicking within the broader sonic and material environments of asylum seekers’ lives—contrasted against the constraints of refugee status and legal uncertainty—the study reveals music as a space of hope emerging from participants’ creativity and aesthetic expression. It traces how individuals navigate complex feelings of belonging and (non)belonging, shifting focus toward understanding precarity and resilience. Encountering and Mobilising Senses of (Non)Belonging Among Asylum Seekers in Greece: Refugees Musicking contributes to reconstituting our understanding of the major discourses around (forced) migration. This book contributes to the following fields of study: Refugee and Migration Studies; Ethnomusicology of Migration; Anthropology of Migration; and Anthropology of Music.