Guidelines for project 2

Choose between the following 3 options:

1. Questions for the readings for weeks 9-11 (Arab Jewish music): Amy Horowitz, in “Dueling Nativities,” argues that the kinds of musical practices exemplified by Zehava Ben are potentially disruptive of fixed identities and polarized claims to ownership of territory. Instead, such practices and borrowings create a sense of flexible rather than rigid identities, and as such, might contribute to the cessation, or at least the destabilization, of war.

Discuss Horowitz’s arguments, drawing on examples from at least FOUR of the articles assigned for weeks 9-11. (Only ONE of those articles should be by Horowitz.) You may also employ additional material (in addition to the 4 articles you’ve chosen), including the film, Zehava Ben: A Solitary Star, materials found on the blog for this class (mepop.blogstpot.com), and others.

Feel free to use the materials to argue against Horowitz’s claims, if you like. There is no “right” answer, what I am looking for are informed and well-argued answers. In order to make your arguments, you need to be very familiar with Horowitz’s “Dueling Nativities.”

2. Jonathan Shannon, in “Sultans of Spin,” explores how musical performance practices that are represented as “authentic” local spiritual traditions obtain their “authenticity” and “locality” through their enactment and staging in global performance contexts. One might add that they can also obtain “authenticity” and “locality” through global or Western practices of publicity and recording (and the publicity associated with the recordings: liner notes and the like).

Discuss Shannon’s arguments, drawing your examples from at least FOUR of the readings assigned for weeks 5-8. In order to do this question, you need to be quite familiar with the arguments Shannon makes. You may also draw on any additional material that you can locate.

3. If you prefer, you may choose a topic of your own (one that deals with the materials from weeks 5-11), but you MUST have it approved by me IN ADVANCE.

Papers are due, ideally, on April 13 (Thursday). If this is too early for you, please contact me. If any question is not clear, please contact me as well.