VELFERÐ / WELL BEING is an open lecture series from the Department of Arts Education 2022-2023
The series take place in IUA Laugarnes, Laugarnesvegur 91, Reykjavík.
Third lecture in the series is November 29th from 15-16, in Lecture Room L193
Lecturer: Adam Switala, Adjunct Lecturer, School of Education, University of Iceland
Music, Identity, Well-Being – Listening to Immigrant Parents in Iceland
In the Fall of 2019, a Polish-Language version of ´Tónagull´, a popular Icelandic family music class program for parents of babies 0-4 years old was launched in Reykjavik. The classes instantly gained high popularity amongst the Polish immigrant families and since 2020 they have been offered continuously in Reykjavik and Hafnarfjörður to a growing population of participants.
In a study conducted amongst the participating parents the respondents often highlighted the significance of the classes as safe spaces for spending quality time with their families, and the importance of attending events in the native language with their children. Albeit: no correlation was found between their previous participation in cultural events in Iceland and their Icelandic language proficiency. Moreover, some of the families enrolled in the programme decided to join similar courses taught in Icelandic, despite their prior concern regarding the language barrier.
The study aims to sheds new light on how music can be used for establishing “safer spaces” for immigrant families with young children and how current educational and cultural policies in Iceland could be improved in order to better serve the needs expressed directly by the members of underrepresented populations.
Adam Switala er tónlistarmaður, tónskáld, fyrirlesari og kennari. Hann er jafnframt doktorsnemi og aðjúnkt á menntavísindasviði Háskóla Íslands, meðlimur í Advocacy Standing Committee og Music In Schools and Teacher Education Commission (MISTEC) of the International Society for Music Education (ISME). 2018-2020 Meðlimur í ritstjórn ISME/Routledge bókaseríunnar „Specialist Themes in Music Education”. 2017-2020 Stjórnarmeðlimur í Polish Music Council. 2017-2018 formaður Félags um tónlistarmenntun í Póllandi. Á ferli sínum hefur hann unnið með fjölda leikstjóra, leikara, dansara og gjörningalistamanna. Hann hefur unnið með meira en 30 leikhúsum, kennslu- og listastofnunum í nokkrum Evrópulöndum auk Bandaríkjanna, þ.m.t. „Zachęta" Pólska þjóðlistasafninu í Varsjá, HAU Hebbel am Ufer í Berlín, MUCEM í Marseille auk margra annarra. Árið 2016 var Adam meðhöfundur innsetningarinnar „Múr sem sameinar” („A Wall that Unites”), sem var hluti af framlagi Póllands til Feneyjartvíæringsins. Hann er þjálfaður leiðbeinandi Lifemusic aðferðarinnar (Lifemusic CIC, UK). Sem gítarleikari hefur hann flutt klassíska tónlist, jazz og þjóðlagatónlist í fjölda tónleikasala og tónlistarhátíða víðsvegar um heim.
Recent Publications:
Switala, A. (2021). The Self-Orientalization of Polish Music Education. Nordic Journal of Comparative and International Education (NJCIE), 5(2), 37–50.
Please note: The lecture is not recorded.
