Music and Gender in Iran
This talk will survey the social history of female professional musicians in Iran. Throughout Iranian history, women have played an important role in the arts, and in particular music and poetry. Many achieved remarkable skills and sophistication, despite challenges by conservative attitudes. Female musicians were the favorite entertainers in the courts for over two millennia during the Achaemenid, Sassanid, Saffavid, Qajar and the Pahlavi dynasties. With modernization in the twentieth century, female singers were at the forefront of musical life in Iran. However, the current Islamic Republic forbids women from singing solo and dancing before an audience that includes men. Ameneh Youssefzadeh received her Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at Nanterre University, Paris, in 1997. Her dissertation was a monograph on the bards of Khorasan, Iran. Since 1998, she has been an Associate Researcher with the French National Scientific Research Center (CNRS ). She is currently a visiting scholar at the Graduate Center, CUNY, where she is collaborating on a project with Professor Stephen Blum. Her areas of study include music in post-revolutionary Iran and gender. Her publications include several articles, CDs, and a book, Les bardes du Khorassan iranien: le bakhshi et son repertoire (Paris, Peeters, 2002). A revised Persian translation of this book was published in Iran in 2009.
Date:
February 18, 2011
Time:
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
College:
CUNY Graduate Center
Address:
365 Fifth Avenue
Manhattan
Building:
Graduate Center
Room:
9207
Phone:
212-817-7571
Website:
http://memeac.gc.cuny.edu
Admission:
Free