DAFF 25A27 - Music and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa

The patriotic tunes of the inter-war mandatory period, the Pan-Arab hymns of the fifties and sixties, the subversive leftist music of the eighties, the rock songs of Tahrir Square, and the Palestinian rap in the occupied West Bank today: the imbrication of music and politics is strikingly obvious in the rich repertoire of Middle Eastern and North African popular music. Using different sociological and anthropological approaches, this course reflects on the different dimensions of this relationship as it revisits the history of the region through music. Whether we understand it as a tightly knit web of meaning or as a soundwave that travels around and beyond the Middle East, music – its production, circulation, and consumption— tells a larger story about the making and remaking of identities and power relations in modern nation-states in the region.

Amr ABDELRAHIM

Séminaire

English

No Mandatory prerequisites. Some prior knowledge of the region's history would be beneficial.

Spring 2023-2024

Biography/Discography (50%): In each session, students working in pairs will make a 25-30-minute presentation followed by a discussion with classmates. The presentation can be either a biography or a discography. It should use the concepts that were studied in class and must integrate musical or sound content. Final paper (40%): A paper on a topic chosen by the student and confirmed by the lecturer. This essay should discuss a research question inspired by the themes explored in the lectures, presentations, and readings. It should not exceed 12000 characters (spaces and footnotes included, bibliography not included). Class participation (10%).