Angela Williams
Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
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Language use
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Fusion of musical style, language, message,
images
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Music as social action/social commentary

Comparative look at revolution/freedom
songs

Flows of protest/socially conscious music

Connections from “home” countries/cultures
and how they show up abroad

In what ways are artists and listeners using
music to shape/create social, cultural,
identity?

How is this extending or redefining local
norms?
Worldatlas.com
Wikimedia Commons
Geographicguide.com
BALKAN PENINSULA
MEDITERRANEAN SEA
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Balkan Beat Box – new Europeans? Israeli?
American?
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Egyptian revolution songs
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Syrian
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Lyrics
 Language, language style
 Meaning, voice
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Images
Videos
 Professional/semi?
 Fan-created

Online profiles

What is the context – real or imagined?

Who is participating or being represented?
(gender, ethnic, linguistic backgrounds)

What is the purpose of the song and its
dissemination?

What does the music teach us about:
citizenship, belonging, civil rights?

Founded in 2004, New
York
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Israeli immigrants:
Tamir Muscat (via
Romania); Ori Kaplan
(klezmer clarinet);
TomerYousef
A “global peacekeeping mission you can dance to.” SPIN magazine

Mix of Balkan,
Middle Eastern,
hip hop,
electronica,
punk, and other
styles
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“War Again”
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Ramy Essam
 “Laugh, Oh Revolution”
 “Leave”
Traditional
“I’m sitting in the square”
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Music videos
You Tube
“Long Live Egypt” (Tahya Masr)
“Voice of Freedom” (Sout al-horeya)
“How?” (Izzay?)
Aida El- Ayoubi –Ya, Midan
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“I Love You, My
Country”
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“Yalla irhal ya Bashar”
("Get Out Bashar") quickly
became the most famous
protest song.

The singer, Hamwee
Ibrahim Qashoosh, was
captured and killed in July,
2011.
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Omar Offendum
(Syrian-American
artists)

Ali al-Deek (Alawite
singer) “Good
morning, Syria”
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Al-Monitor article

“Map” out the lives of the members of one of
the groups in Google Earth.
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Crossing the Bridge (Turkey)
Slingshot Hip Hop (Palestine)
I Love Hip Hop in Morocco
No One Knows about Persian Cats (Iran)
Channels of Rage (Israel)
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aswillms@illinois.edu