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

From the patriotic tunes of the inter-war mandatory period to the underground music of the Arab Uprisings, Middle Eastern and North African popular music is deeply entangled with politics. Since the late nineteenth century, states and various social groups have attempted to channel the power of patriotic hymns and subversive songs. This course draws on the sociology and anthropology of culture to revisit the history of the region through music. It looks beyond periods of political upheaval to understand the everyday significance of musical practices in authoritarian, neoliberal, and postcolonial settings. Whether we understand it as a tightly knit web of meaning or as a soundwave that travels around and beyond the Middle East, popular 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 familiarity with the region would be beneficial, but additional readings will be available for those who are new to the subject.

Spring 2024-2025

Presentation (10%): In each session, students working in pairs will present a song that is relevant to the session. The presentation should use the concepts that were seen in class and include music and/or sound content. Take-home exam (40%): Two short questions and an essay prompt chosen by the lecturer. The entire assignment should not exceed 8000 characters. Final paper (40%): A paper on a topic chosen by the student and approved 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%)