IJCM 4 (1) pp. 59–70 © Intellect Ltd 2011 International Journal of Community Music Volume 4 Number 1 © Intellect Ltd 2011. Article. English language. doi: 10.1386/ijcm.4.1.59_1 ANDRÉ DE QUADROS Boston University, USA PHILIPP DORSTEWITZ Maastricht University, The Netherlands Community, communication, social change: Music in dispossessed Indian communities KEYWORDS community music community arts public health communication India Dewey ABSTRACT The interface of music and health has principally been through music therapy and the use of music to build individual wellness. Community music as a tool for communicat- ing health messages in combination with other arts and as a part of an epidemiological study has not been widely used. This article considers the relationship between public health, community music in particular, and the arts more generally. It discusses vari- ous ideas that give shape to an interdisciplinary enquiry centering on health policy. It introduces several aspects of Dewey’s philosophy to support the idea of a community– music–health nexus as a source of projects that are both beneficial and have genuine aesthetic value. The study examines issues relating both to artistic value and health impact effectiveness in an Indian dispossessed community context, and provides a 59