Resistance Studies

Stig-Magnus Thorsen October 1st, 2009

EXPRESSION, REPRESENTATION, AND RESISTANCE

Research on Music in Palestine

With a long starting run, an academic partnership is now established between Birzeit University (Palestine) and Gothenburg University (Sweden). Hands are shaken, and the first plans are agreed upon. The first aim is to write up an anthology on the subject to be published in 2012. To that end a first symposium will be held in Jordan February 19-21, 2010.

The project will not only run with the two basically involved institutions, but also with an international network of scholars from other countries that are already working in the field of study. Interested researchers are welcome to contact me <stig-magnus.thorsen@gu.se>. Either you just want to follow the project or take part in writing an essay for the anthology. Below follows ideas running through the project. One of these is Cultural Resistance, becoming more and more relevant in resistance studies.

What has music meant to people in Palestinian society during the 20th century?
Palestinian music draws from a long tradition where both domestic and international musical practices have made up a specific blend of influences. The mixture is a genuine part of the Palestinian identity. It mirrors also the historical and societal changes that have occurred during the 20th century. The three aspects at core are: expression, representation and resistance. The concepts point at the relation between music and political conditions that are put at Palestinian art and by the Palestinian strive for identity.

The musical expression will be studied starting with an overview of genres. In focus is the relation between text and music as well as the function of music in society. The Palestinian music also represents various cultures and nations, partly emanating from musical traditions (Oriental, Arab, Syrian, Ottoman etc.), partly from the global arena (Westerns classical music, popular music, Hip-Hop). Palestinian music also functions as a resistance towards occupation and humiliation, and as a parallel internal fight against victimising attitudes in order to edification.

The Palestinian political situation, remains one of the world’s major concerns, and has been at the centre of global debate for at least the last 100 years. Palestine has been the most important political issue in the Arab world, a case that has influenced the Arab standpoint, not only towards Israel but also towards the entire world. Understanding the Palestinian issue, therefore, is a major step towards understanding the issues that stimulate many commonly held attitudes in the Arab world.

Palestinian society and culture remains relatively obscure outside the Arab world. On the one hand, this is partly due to lack of objective research investigating this culture, and on the other hand internal and external changes have shaped contemporary Palestinian identity and culture. Understanding the complexity of the Palestinian situation existing today must include knowing and defining the Palestinian culture, where music plays a highly significant role, in all its socio-political contexts.

Research up to now on Palestinian music have mainly looked at folk music and the wedding rituals. There are some few biographies of some classical musicians from the early 20th century. Recently some scholars have invested the songs of the recent intifadas and the Hip-Hop stage. To some extent the Palestinians in Diaspora have been looked upon from concepts such as homeliness and identity.

Stig-Magnus Thorsén

• Art-related resistance
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