Fourth International Conference On Popular Culture In The Middle East And North Africa
Popular Culture: Public Places, Mass Media, And Mass Consumption
Hosted by:
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
And Oxford University
Place: Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Ifrane, Morocco. Ifrane is located in the Middle Atlas Mountains some 60 Kms from both Meknes and Fez.
Date: April 5th to 7th 2006
The School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane in collaboration with Oxford University the Fourth International Conference on Popular Culture in the Middle East and North Africa. The conference theme is Popular Culture: Public Spaces, Mass Media, and Mass Consumption.
General Description
Popular culture in the Middle East and North Africa has a long history of “multi-media” including shadow plays, recitations and dramatic readings of epics (often times accompanied by music), songs and dance, improvised story telling (such as the halqah in Morocco), processions associated with events or feasts, and many other forms. Today other media are used such as radio, television, film, various forms of theater as well as newspapers, magazines, and even the Internet. When once the audience for Middle Eastern and North African popular culture was “local”, today, due to the ability to broadcast at a global scale, the audience has become global. Mass media and tourism have become an important part of both the production and sales of “culture” oftentimes turning local heritage into a commodity.
The purpose of this conference is to open up the discussion of popular culture to a wide range of issues relating to the uses of public spaces and media as well as its mass consumption both locally and internationally. Topics for papers may include such issues as authenticity and identity, use and “sale” of heritage, impact of mass tourism, influences of Middle Eastern and North African popular culture on other cultures, influences on Middle Eastern and North African popular culture by other cultures, and the use of new media technologies and their impact on the culture and the “cultural product”.
Major Themes
The conference is open to papers in the following categories:
- Popular Tales/Epics/Poems – Recitation and/or Performance; Analysis of characters; Criticism;
- Popular Religion – ‘Ids, Mulids/Mawsims, Ziyarahs, Hadras, Lilas/Derdebas, and other public celebrations of a religious nature; places such as zawiyahs, kuttabs, and darihs
- Popular Wisdom – Jokes, Proverbs, and Tales
- Theater – Traditional Theater/Plays ( for example Karaköse shadow plays or the Moroccan Halqah ); Contemporary Popular Theater (for example Durayd Lahham, Muhammad Subhi, Tayib Saddiqi, etc); Social/Political criticism in theater
- Popular Music and Dance – Traditional (for example Maluf, Malhun, Qudud Halabiyah, Khabiti, Dabkah, Chubeh, Halay, etc ) or Contemporary (for example Cairo Pop, Rai, Khaliji, Turkish Pop, Kurdish Pop, etc); Social/Political criticism in music; Ethnic identity and music/dance; “National folklore” dance companies (for example the Egyptian Reda Troup)
- Cinema/Television/Radio – Impact on Popular Culture(s) in the region; use of these new media for cultural production, impact beyond the region; Creation of National Identity; Musalsalat for Ramadan, historical, social, political; New Cinema
- Tourism and Popularization of Cultural Heritage – Use of culture to as commodity on the market, production of “tourist” forms of popular culture, creation of popular culture for tourist consumption – Folklore and “Fakelore”
- Popular Culture and Political Culture – Use of Popular Culture in group identity, by political parties, by governments (for example the Amazigh cultural movements in North Africa)
- All other topics related to the general theme are welcome
Conference Fee
All international participants will be charged a conference fee of $250 per person. The fee will cover the cost of housing and meals on the Al Akhawayn University campus from April 4th to April 8th..
For Further Information
Dr. John Shoup
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane
Ifrane 53000 – Kingdom of Morocco
Fax: 212 55 56 71 40
Office: 212 55 86 24 81
Email: j.shoup@aui.ma
Additional Information
Ifrane is located in the Middle Atlas Mountains about 60 Kms from both Meknes and Fez. The town is 1600 meters above sea level and nights even in April can be cold and participants should dress accordingly.
Visas
Participants holding US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, and European Union passports do not need a visa for Morocco. A tourist visa valid for one month is issued upon arrival at any international point of entry. Participants holding all other passports – including those from the Arab states - need to check with the nearest Moroccan consulate for visa information. Please note that Al Akhawayn University is not able to get visas for you.
Arrivals/Departures
Participants can be picked up and taken to the Fez airport only. Please be sure to send your complete flight information to the Organizing Committee well in advance to be sure pick ups and deliveries can be arranged. There are flights from Gatwick, Orley, and Malaga Airports directly to Fez; all other flights go to Casablanca and then transfer to one of the several daily flights to Fez. Fez is located about 1 hour from Ifrane by car. It is possible to take the train from Casablanca and/or Rabat to Meknes (Amir Abd al-Qadir Station) and Al Akhawayn can provide transportation from the train station to Ifrane. Please be sure to inform the organization committee of your arrival plans for assistance. It is also possible to take a Grand Taxi from the train station in Meknes or Fez and from the airports (Casablanca, Rabat, and Fez) directly to Al Akhawayn University campus. The prices are “set”, though it may be possible to negotiate a better rate: Casablanca to Ifrane 1,500 Dhs, Rabat to Ifrane 800 Dhs, and Fez to Ifrane 200 Dhs. These are the highest prices anyone should pay. Al Akhawayn is not responsible for non-AUI transportation to and from the campus.
Additional Activities
A trip to the madinah of Fez and/or Meknes can be arranged. Place and cost
will depend on the numbers of participants who are interested in the trips.
The cost is not included in the conference fee of $250.