Abstract

This is an accepted article with a DOI pre-assigned that is not yet published.

This article discusses how the soundscape of citizenship ceremonies is part of the materialization of citizenship in the twenty-first century. In this comparative research on citizenship ceremonies in West European countries, the use of the performative approach has led to a changed focus from the textual discourse and rhetoricof the citizenship ceremonies to what is actually done. In the ceremonies, citizenship is not only enacted in different discourses and versions of bodily practice. It is also materialized in flags, certificates, information folders, pins, medals, food and beverages, and in various soundscapes comprising recitation of oaths, playing children, folk music, and singing of national anthems. These soundscapes are the primary focus of this paper, thus promoting the idea of an ethnology of sensory experience andmaterialization.

Keywords

ritual, citizenship, materialization, soundscape

Publisher Notes

• This article was previously published by Museum Tusculanum Press.