Join us as we welcome Dr. Kathleen Hood to discuss her nonfiction work, "Music in Druze Life"
Metropolis Books-Sat. March 21st. 4:00 pm.
Dr. Kathleen Hood provides an encompassing and richly documented study of Druze musical culture. Basing her work on first-hand experience in the field and approaching her subject matter with remarkable sensitivity and respect, Dr. Hood introduces the music not as a cultural relic fixed in place and time, but rather as a vibrant expression that plays a key role in people’s lives. Thus, she relates the current musical practice to the community’s history, social outlooks and cultural institutions. Furthermore, she treats the musical culture as a creative arena in which people define their own position in today’s complex world. All this is achieved through direct personal observations and careful analyses of traditional performance events without losing sight of the recent processes of modernization and urbanization. Music in Druze Life: Ritual, Values, and Performance Practice is more than a specialized monograph. Given its extensive coverage and theoretical implications, Hood’s work is also a primary source for understanding the expressive culture of the broader East-Mediterranean Arab world. - from the introduction by A. J. Racy
Metropolis Books-Sat. March 21st. 4:00 pm.
Dr. Kathleen Hood provides an encompassing and richly documented study of Druze musical culture. Basing her work on first-hand experience in the field and approaching her subject matter with remarkable sensitivity and respect, Dr. Hood introduces the music not as a cultural relic fixed in place and time, but rather as a vibrant expression that plays a key role in people’s lives. Thus, she relates the current musical practice to the community’s history, social outlooks and cultural institutions. Furthermore, she treats the musical culture as a creative arena in which people define their own position in today’s complex world. All this is achieved through direct personal observations and careful analyses of traditional performance events without losing sight of the recent processes of modernization and urbanization. Music in Druze Life: Ritual, Values, and Performance Practice is more than a specialized monograph. Given its extensive coverage and theoretical implications, Hood’s work is also a primary source for understanding the expressive culture of the broader East-Mediterranean Arab world. - from the introduction by A. J. Racy
