Aliah Ajamoughli

From Syria to Germany, many Arabs across the globe are united by a core musical practice: every morning they greet the sun to the sounds of Lebanese pop diva Fairuz and greet the moon to the masterpieces of Egyptian superstar Umm Kulthum. Even though these divas reached their musical prime nearly fifty years ago, for many Arabs their music still remains a pinnacle of excellence in the music industry today. This course examines the impact of Arab women and their musical legacy in a culture often Orientalized as misogynistic, backwards, and oppressive. Drawing from ethnomusicology, performance studies, and gender studies, this course takes a radical approach to understanding the nuances of an Arab pop diva and deconstructs Orientalist understandings of Arab culture through musical study. We will not only listen closely to the brilliance of Umm Kulthum and Fairuz but also consider the cultural influence of their predecessors like Asmahan and the innovations of their successors like Nancy Ajram. Throughout the course, students will question why the societal impact of pop music divas is often devalued across cultures and explore these divas as drivers of liberation and political change. By the course¿s conclusion, students will hold a more nuanced understanding of not only Arab culture but also their own culture¿s pop music. Course assignments will include self-reflexive listening journals and a research project on the student¿s Arab pop diva of choice. No previous musical knowledge or Arabic speaking skills are required for this course.

How can a genre of music both perpetuate toxic masculinity and create spaces in its performance for those outside of normative gender expectations? In 1999, Joan Morgan confronted this question by describing her feminism as a hip-hop feminism, or a feminism that does not sit ?comfortably in the black and white of things.? In this course, we will expand on Morgan?s conceptualization of hip-hop feminism to more broadly examine how expressions of gender intersect with various musical performance practices. Our discussions will explore topics such as asserting masculinity in Japanese taiko performances to reorienting femininity in early American blues to reclaiming pre-colonialization conceptualizations of gender outside the Western gender binary in Indian hijra musical communities. This course will draw from a variety of feminist movements?including transnational, Chicana, Third World, and Black feminisms?to understand how musical performance practices are not only dependent on expressions of gender but also dependent on expressions of other identities such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, and ability. Course work will include writing assignments and class presentations that focus on raising the audibility of musicians casted to the margins because of their gender identity.