‘L-ʿalwa’, a sung poem whose text recounts the pilgrimage to a saint’s shrine in Morocco, is celebrated for its ability to convey images and emotions stirred up by the sacred journey. As part of the repertory of ʿaita—a genre of sung poetry from the Moroccan plains and plateaus traditionally performed by professional female singer-danc…[Read more]

ʿAiṭa–a genre of sung poetry from the Moroccan Atlantic Plains and its adjacent territories—is regarded as the quintessential expression of the identity of the region. If it is possible to analyse the poetic language of ʿaiṭa in order to understand its significance among these populations, it is also critical to examine how the affective power of…[Read more]

ʿAiṭa–a genre of sung poetry from the Moroccan Atlantic Plains and its adjacent territories—is regarded as the quintessential expression of the identity of the region. If it is possible to analyse the poetic language of ʿaiṭa in order to understand its significance among these populations, it is also critical to examine how the affective power of…[Read more]

Panorama of scholarly work on women and music in Morocco

Panorama of scholarly work on women and music in Morocco

The article explores why a particular group of Moroccan musicians conceives of different performances of a sung poem titled “Kharbusha” as unchanging despite variables arising from the dynamics of performance practices. To this end, I explore the seeming discrepancy between discourses about “Kharbusha” and its performance, and what this discrep…[Read more]

The article explores why a particular group of Moroccan musicians conceives of different performances of a sung poem titled “Kharbusha” as unchanging despite variables arising from the dynamics of performance practices. To this end, I explore the seeming discrepancy between discourses about “Kharbusha” and its performance, and what this discrep…[Read more]

The article examines Moroccan professional female singer-dancers (shikhat) in relation to other professional female performers . An analysis of the role that women have as entertainers, and in particular of their behavior in the course of performance, will show how they affect the status of each class of performers. Sketching a panorama of the…[Read more]

The article examines Moroccan professional female singer-dancers (shikhat) in relation to other professional female performers . An analysis of the role that women have as entertainers, and in particular of their behavior in the course of performance, will show how they affect the status of each class of performers. Sketching a panorama of the…[Read more]

‘Aita is a sung poetry practiced by professional female singer-dancers known as shikhat along the Moroccan Atlantic plains and plateaus. By focusing on the discourses and politics employed in the revalorization of the ‘aita, this ethnographic investigation will show how the official incorporation of the ‘aita into the Moroccan heritage has…[Read more]

The article examines Moroccan professional female singer-dancers (shikhat) in relation to other professional female performers . An analysis of the role that women have as entertainers, and in particular of their behavior in the course of performance, will show how they affect the status of each class of performers. Sketching a panorama of the…[Read more]

The article examines Moroccan professional female singer-dancers (shikhat) in relation to other professional female performers . An analysis of the role that women have as entertainers, and in particular of their behavior in the course of performance, will show how they affect the status of each class of performers. Sketching a panorama of the…[Read more]

Introduction to the literary theory, form, and style of Modernism, a literary movement that dominated the first half of the 20th century and continues to exert its influence over literature today, which, tellingly, is described by the label post-Modernism.

The recent popularity of the film version of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has renewed interest in this widely read work set in the realm of Middle-earth. A careful study of Tolkien’s work can be used to raise several philosophical questions, particularly in the area of ethics. This course will examine such questions, also considering topics fro…[Read more]

The recent popularity of the film version of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has renewed interest in this widely read work set in the realm of Middle-earth. A careful study of Tolkien’s work can be used to raise several philosophical questions, particularly in the area of ethics. This course will examine such questions, also considering topics fro…[Read more]

The recent popularity of the film version of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has renewed interest in this widely read work set in the realm of Middle-earth. A careful study of Tolkien’s work can be used to raise several philosophical questions, particularly in the area of ethics. This course will examine such questions, also considering topics fro…[Read more]

The recent popularity of the film version of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has renewed interest in this widely read work set in the realm of Middle-earth. A careful study of Tolkien’s work can be used to raise several philosophical questions, particularly in the area of ethics. This course will examine such questions, also considering topics fro…[Read more]

The recent popularity of the film version of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has renewed interest in this widely read work set in the realm of Middle-earth. A careful study of Tolkien’s work can be used to raise several philosophical questions, particularly in the area of ethics. This course will examine such questions, also considering topics fro…[Read more]

This essay begins with my attempt to close-read a text by a recently departed colleague, Jeffrey B. Ferguson, but turns into an exploration of writing across registers, in this case the delivery of a very different version of the same paper by Ferguson, one that is far more intimate, insightful, and moving.

Two-thirds of the way through Faulkner, Mississippi, his extended meditation on the prose oeuvre of the American writer William Faulkner, Édouard Glissant remarks on Faulkner’s famous ‘amused refusal to “correct the contradictions”’ introduced into his texts through his constant revisiting of characters across novels not necessarily set in proper…[Read more]