DECO 23A05 - From Tan-Tan to Tehran - Music & Politics in Contemporary MENA

“Music and Politics in Contemporary MENA” offers to analyse the evolution of Northern African and Middle Eastern societies through the study of the most famous songs, musical artists and movements of the 20th and 21st century. Supporting or opposing regimes in place, from rebellion to conservatism, from frenzy to scandal, music has continuously been much more than a mere entertainment practice: its impact mirrors the political, economic and socio-cultural dynamics at change, when it does not amplify or provoke them. From protest songs to mass entertainment, from oral transmission to working tunes, this elective course also aims at addressing the history of influence to and from other parts of the world, including first and foremost Europe and the United States, but also Africa and the Far East. It will therefore show how the perception of modernity as a purely Western concept can be challenged, and how modernity in the MENA region, as well as identity, reflects the human diversity and multiple cultural influences.

Coline HOUSSAIS

Séminaire

English

KEYWORDS AND CONCEPTS : Religion Class and gender dynamics Intellectual property law in the Arab world Domestic policies: protest, propaganda and censorship Foreign policy and diplomacy Entertainment economy and show business industry Exile, diaspora and transnational dynamics Media, image and marketing Identity and perception Culture politics and influence Due to the character and subject of the course, there is no compulsory reading. A fair understanding of the social, economic, cultural and political background of the MENA region is expected.

Spring 2021-2022

- 15%: general participation + informal and spontaneous presentation (oral, about 5min) of a song/artist/musical phenomenon related to the theme of the session. - 35%: individual oral presentation on a particular artist, movement, institution or piece of music (with 4 page-long written support), - 50%: group presentation (with 10 page written support) m, on the last session of the course.

Part 1 – The Origins – Folk music and the politics of national identity Session 1: Maghreb  Berber music from the Atlas, oral tradition, folk poetry, Touareg protest song Session 2: Levant  Regional variations of dabkeh, Kurdish dance and nationalist songs, agricultural dance, working songs, Assyrian music, zajal Session 3: Gulf, Egypt and the Horn of Africa  Peasant songs, Nubian, Saidi and Delta folk music, songs of the Pearl Fishers, Bedouin poetry and traditional desert music, Somali sung poetry Session 4: Turkey & Iran  musical territories of the Turkish and Iranian worlds, Bandari songs, Kolbasti dance, Qajar dance Part 2 – The Classics – Regional hegemon in the time of Arab nationalism Session 5: Religious music and monotheism  Gnawa, sufi trance music from the zaouia, stambuli, songs and voices of the Eastern churches, Quranic recitals, Jewish religious singing Session 6: I sing for Thee, O Al-Andalous!  Arabo-andalou style from Morocco and Algeria, Jewish-Arab songs, Algérois chaabi, Tunisian maalouf Session 7: Beirut-Cairo-Bagdad, the battle of the tarab and mass entertainment  Oum Kalthoum, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Farid Al Atrash, Abdel Halim Hafez, Asmahan, Salima Mourad, Nazem Al Ghazali, Wadih Safi, Warda Al Djazaïriah, Studio Misr and Talaat Harb, Fayrouz and Nasri Shamseddin, Leila Mourad, Sabah, Mohamed Mounir Session 8: A century of political music  Nostalgia and exile songs from Algeria, Lebanon and Palestine, nationalist music in Somalia, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Kuwait and Morocco, protest songs from Egypt and Syria, Cheikh Imam, Marcel Khalife Part 3 – The global village – Ruptures and continuity of modern music Session 9: The great adventure of Oriental Jazz  Lloyd George at the court of the Shah, Lena Chamamyan and Bassel Rajoub, Ibrahim Maalouf, Anouar Brahem, Dhafer Youssef, Aziza Mustafah Zadeh Session 10: Funk, rock, pop, disco  Omar Khorshid, Erkin Koray, Ahmed Fakroun, Vigon, The Cedars, The Abranis, Iftin, Dur Dur, Hamid El Shaeri, Baris Manço, Claude François and Dalida Session 11: Electro and non-mainstream Western influences  Mugar, Yasmine Hamdan, Zeid Hamdan, Mettani, Maurice Louca, Tamer Abu Ghazaleh, Mercan Dede, Niyaz, Axiom of Choice Session 12: Rap the Casbah - the Arab world's own ghetto songs  Rai, chaabi, rap, electro-chaabi, Cheikha Rmitti, Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami, Cheb Hasni, Daoudia, 47Soul, Checkpoint 303, Katibeh Khamse, scopitones and migrant culture, Madou MC, Weld El 15