In the next chapter of his career, Mohsen Namjoo is dedicated to breaking new ground. Dubbed by the New York Times as “Bob Dylan of Iran”, Namjoo strives for musical excellence, not only for his fans, but also because of his reverence for traditional Persian music and literature. During his visit to Philadelphia, I had…
Tag: music
A Gullah Narrative: Expanding Our Understanding of Identity
This Monday we were lucky enough to have storyteller of peace, Nashid Ali, use music and anecdotes to talk about home and identity, specifically focusing on how family plays into those constructions. Amidst his performance he informed us of a dimension of his identity; Nashid is Muslim and can trace his family roots back to…
What’s So Wrong with Mohammad Abd al-Wahaab?
Is there such a thing as pure Arab music? Has Arab music been westernized in a way that surpasses the natural intercultural exchange that constantly occurs, and if so, is this a serious problem for the future of Arab culture? These questions continued to arise in discussions this past week at Al-Bustan’s Arab and Arts…
Fairuz or Amr Diab?: An Approach to Choosing Arabic Educational Material
After sitting in on the Arabic educators’ group for the first three days of Al-Bustan’s Arab Arts and Culture Course, I saw the group continue to return to the question: “how do we choose Arabic songs or poems for our classes?” While there was definitely some disagreement, they seemed to arrive at the conclusion that…
Collaborative Learning at Al-Bustan’s Arab Arts & Culture course
This has been a busy week for a group of educators at the Albert M. Greenfield Intercultural Center at UPenn. From 9:00am until well past dusk, Arabic language and music teachers have joined together to participate in Al-Bustan’s Arab Arts & Culture course. Although I am neither a teacher nor a musician, I, too, have spent the week learning…
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