Racy 1986, 2003). The musical performance practices of North Africa, while often claiming similar origins in Andalusian Spain, are for the most part distinct from those of the Arab East (see Guettat 2000; Touma 1996).
Any study of aesthetics necessarily implies a study of the relationships among power, authority, legitimacy, and ideology—not the least being ideologies of art and aesthetics. Aesthetics has never been merely or primarily about conceptions of beauty abstracted from its social context and reified as an ideal (Eagleton 1990). Rather, like standards and judgments of authenticity and in-authenticity, aesthetic valuations are socially constructed. All aesthetic judgments are what Kant termed “dependent”—that is, grounded in certain contextual conditions; there is then no free beauty, in Kant’s sense of the term, nor can aesthetic experience be disinterested (Kant 1952).12 In Syria, judgments of musical authenticity are relative to the cultural context in which they are made and subject to changing tastes over time. No single standard suffices for determining any musical work’s or musician’s quality or authenticity.
Furthermore, the study of aesthetics and aesthetic judgments necessarily implies an ethics, for labeling an art form or cultural practice “beautiful” or “authentic” often is to associate it with ethically proper behavior, if not virtue. Just as importantly, to call something “ugly” or “inauthentic” is to equate it with the dangerous and morally suspect. In many ways, the aesthetics of authenticity constitutes a moral discourse. In a similar manner, a given aesthetics also implicates a politics, since all artistic productions and cultural practices occur within the context of relations of power and authority that, through systems of patronage and censorship, condition or limit forms of production and consumption. As Robert Plant Armstrong has noted, “it is more useful . . . to think of the nature of the aesthetic as being more rewardingly approached in terms of relating to power than to beauty, for example” (Armstrong 1981: 6; see also Armstrong 1971). Following Armstrong’s insight, it is perhaps more fruitful in this context to examine what a particular work of art (whether oral or visual) does and not how it looks or sounds.
The ethical and political dimensions of aesthetic sensibilities are especially relevant in discussions of authenticity in Syria. Syrian officials seek to cultivate a sense of a national culture that they project not only as ethically, politically, and culturally authentic, but also beautiful, that is, aesthetically pleasing—even if only to the state. Since the 1960s, the Arab Socialist Reawakening (Ba
A study of the aesthetics of authenticity in Syria thus necessarily seeks to uncover aspects of these relations of power and authority and the ideologies of authenticity that frame the very conception of artistic beauty as well as the production and consumption of art and forms of cultural practice. I address such issues as they arise in specific ethnographic contexts—arguments about the origins of Arab music, forms of patronage of musical concerts, and so on—and argue that the aesthetics of authenticity is, on the one hand, a discourse of culture and tradition, and, on the other, a discourse of power and privilege.
My research explores the question of how musical heritage promotes modern subjectivities, and how it helps Syrians navigate heavily politicized and policed terrains of the self and nation. But I do not do so by focusing entirely or even primarily on politics. This may come as a surprise (or relief) to those familiar with research on modern Syria, most of which has favored political and economic over cultural analysis. While being sensitive to the placement of my study in the wider context of American and European scholarship on the Arab world, in writing this study my aim has been to portray the human dimensions of contemporary Syria, what the majority of scholarship has neglected. Of the works written on contemporary Syria, most deal with politics, political history, the French Mandate period, Syrian authoritarianism, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and similar topics.15 While these issues are important, they certainly are not the only things that can be studied within Syria, and, as I suggest above, they also can be explored productively through analysis of aesthetic practices such as music making. In fact, I believe that focusing primarily on politics leaves us blind (and deaf) to the richness of Syrian culture in its many forms. It may also make it even easier to demonize a country and its people when we do not recognize that it is home to wonderfully creative artists, a centuries-old poetic and musical tradition, and ordinary people who strive to bring order and meaning to their lives in ways that are often far from the so-called “political realities” of the day, which are often more relevant to Western analysts than to “natives.”
Some readers may argue that by focusing on musical aesthetics I ignore authoritarianism and oppression in Syria, that I have not attended closely enough to forms of institutional power, or that I have been blind to the very real suffering of the Syrian people. Nothing could be farther from the truth. My Syrian friends and colleagues include many who have borne and continue to bear the weight of an oppressive regime. Yet, despite all of this, Syrians in a wide range of lifestyles continue to raise children, work, seek pleasure, solace, and meaning in their daily lives . . . and to listen to music. And they often do so with grace, humor, and charm to boot.
Acknowledgments
This work would not have seen the light of day without the support and encouragement of numerous individuals and institutions. The research on which this work is based was funded through the generosity of fellowships from the Near and Middle East Research and Training Program of the Social Science Research Council (1994, 1996) and the Fulbright-Hays Dissertation Research Abroad Program (1996–1998) and Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia Regional Research Program (2004). At the City University of New York Graduate Center, I benefited greatly from the guidance and comments of Vincent Crapanzano, Talal Asad, Jane Schneider, Stephen Blum, and Louise Lennihan. Julia Butter-field, Alcira Forero-Peña, Alfredo Gonzales, Murphy Halliburton, F. Trenholme Junghans, and Carmen Medeiros helped get the project on solid footing. Martin Stokes of the University of Chicago provided encouragement on the project and helpful comments on an early draft of the work. Ali Jihad Racy’s generous and insightful comments made the final text stronger and clearer. Suzanna Tamminen and the editorial staff at Wesleyan University Press and University Press of New England made the birthing of this project enjoyable through their efficiency, patience, and good cheer.
I extend my deep appreciation to Ibrāhīm Ḥamad of Cairo, Egypt, my first oud teacher, and to his family for introducing me to the art of listening to and performing Arab music. Mustafa al-Kurd of Jerusalem, Palestine, offered important lessons on the oud and Arab musical aesthetics and politics. In New York City, Najib “The Oud Man” Shaheen and Simon Shaheen helped keep me close to the music when I was away from Syria through their good friendship and inspiring performances. Alexandre Tannous and A. P. Joseph always had good questions and abundant enthusiasm for the music and my research.
In Syria, I thank the many friends, acquaintances, teachers, and officials who made my research possible. I acknowledge the Syrian Ministry of Culture for permission
