Effects of Inuit Drum Dancing on Psychosocial Well-Being and Resilience

Tim Murray holds a PhD and an M.A. in ethnomusicology from the University of Florida, where he is also currently an adjunct professor of music.

Murray has a keen eye for observations rich with detail on multiple levels. I can nearly feel the crunch of snow under my feet and feel the drumbeat in a community dance. More importantly, he captures the tensions between generations, between tradition and technology, and between the idealized past and actual realities of life in an irrevocably altered culture. Of particular merit are his insights into psychological functions of traditional music and dance, creating identity and community connectedness, and joining the young people to a heritage that might otherwise evade their grasp. Notably, Murray himself appears to have gained the ability to understand and learn from communication via subtext, no small feat for an academic and something all scholars of culture should aspire to achieve.

• List of Figures and TablesAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: An Old Tool with a New PurposeChapter 1: Ulukhaktok: Historical Background and Cultural ContextChapter 2: How We Go Here: Metacommunication and the Optics of ProductivityChapter 3: Drum Dancing, Social Boundaries, and a Strategic End by Tactical MeansChapter 4: Performing Cultural Productivity and the Adapting TaskscapeAppendix A: Glossary of Inuinnaqtun TermsReferences