People Not Places

Greetings IFS'ers!

 I know today's discussion was difficult, but I appreciate your willingness to talk through some of these issues. We've had a difficult week. We've covered a lot of material,  and dealt with some very difficult issues. Starting tomorrow, our focus for the class will change.

 For the past week we have been discussing issues of music and identity in the context of conflict and war. We've discussed musical reflections upon 9/11, and the ways in which music and popular culture was used as a tool in the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan. We then moved to a discussion of popular music and globalization in Morocco, thinking about conflicting discourses of Islamism and westernization. today we discussed various ways in which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been imagined by hip-hop artists on both sides. However tomorrow we are going to shift gears slightly and discuss the nature of participatory dynamics and spirit possession in Zimbabwe.

 Specifically, we are going to be working on the various ways in which participatory music is utilized to create communal bonds with the afterlife. Using a Shona spirit possession ceremony as a case study, we will discuss the ways in which participatory music engenders social integration and communal bonds. As you read through this material tonight, think about the orchestral performance we attended a week ago, comparing and contrasting the nature of participatory and presentational music.

 Tomorrow's class will also be a lecturer/demonstration, where I expect everyone to come willing to sing, clap, and perhaps play along with the music. This should give you a break from the very heavy (and at times depressing) issues we have been discussing thus far.

 There is no blog post assigned for tonight, so have a great time at the coffeehouse, and I will see you tomorrow morning.