Black musics, African lives, and the national imagination in modern Israel
By: a dissertation presented by Sarah Elizabeth Hankins to the department of music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy in the subject of music
Published: 2015
Language: eng
Number of pages: 349
Subjects: Music; African influences; Social aspects; Popular music; Music and race; African diaspora; Ethnology
Description: "Black Musics, African Lives, and the National Imagination in Modern Israel," explores the forms and functions of African and Afro-diasporic musics amidst heated public debate around ethnic identity and national membership. Focusing on musical-political activity among Ethiopian Israeli citizens, Sudanese and Eritrean refugees, and West African labor migrants in Tel Aviv, I examine how diverse types of musicking, from nightclub DJing and live performance to church services and protest concerts, voice African and Afro-descendent claims to civic status in a fractured urban environment. Grounded in ethnographic participant observation, the dissertation analyzes musical and political activity through the lens of "interpretive modes" that shape contemporary Israel's national consciousness, and which influence African and Afro-descendant experiences within Israeli society. These include "Israeliyut," or the valorization of so-called native Israeli cultural forms and histories; "Africani," an emerging set of aesthetic and social values that integrates African and Afro-descendent subjectivities into existing frameworks of Israeli identity; and "glocali," or the effort to reconcile local Israeli experience with aspects of globalization.

Tracing "blackness" as an ideological and aesthetic category through five decades of public discourse and popular culture, I examine the disruptions to this category precipitated by Israel's 21st century encounter with African populations. I find that the dynamics of debate over African presence influence an array of mass-cultural processes, including post-Zionism, conceptions of ethnic "otherness," and the splintering of Israel's left into increasingly narrow interest groups. Contributing to the literature on continuity and change within urban-dwelling African diasporas, this dissertation is the first monograph exploring dramatic transformations of Israel's highly consolidated national culture through in-depth ethnography with migrant groups.
Notes: Printed on recto only.

Keywords: African diaspora; music; Israel.

Doctor of Philosophy Harvard University 2015.

Thesis (Doctor of Philosophy)--Music, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, May 2015.

Author embargo expires May 1, 2017

Author embargo expires May 1, 2017