Modal Migration, Maqām Beyond Nation

An international conference exploring the contemporary mobilities, cosmopolitan settings, and cross-border potentials of the diverse but interlinked musical world of maqām.

The conference works against the grain of twentieth century processes of national canon formation to restore our understanding of shared traditions of music-making, and to study contemporary border-crossing mobilities and revivals. 

We ask, what happens when forms of “national culture” break free from nation? What new forms of creativity, meaning and affect are forged through border-crossing moves? What local socio-political realities underlie them, what critical issues do they raise, and what methodologies can we employ to study them?

Two full days of papers concluding with a concert. 

Registration

Registration is free but required, please follow the link at the top of the page.

Main Image: Ottoman miniature showing a Sufi gathering . Credit: SOAS Library.