The Iraqi Maqām

Had I been able to engage in long-term fieldwork in Iraq, the Iraqi Maqām (IM) would have been my dissertation topic. As it stands, fieldwork in Baghdad is currently very difficult for foreign researchers. Despite this, I have spent considerable time with Arabic language texts on the IM, recordings of the IM, and speaking with practitioners (though less than I would like).

I have written several seminar papers (in social and musical analysis) on the IM, have given an analytical presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the SEM, and currently have an article in Asian Music on the topic. I am interested in the development and lineages of the IM and how these histories have musical effects.  I am particularly drawn to studying the ways in which the IM is transmitted and yet retains a strongly idiosyncratic personal character for singers. What kinds of threads of continuity and change animate the transmission of the IM? How can the IM be changed — what counts as personal performance and what counts as a systemic change? What kinds of changes are permissible and impermissible?

Lastly, I firmly committed to supporting and facilitating IM performance in the US, Iraq, and internationally. I want to help preserve the kinds of social spaces that allow the IM to flourish, not simply record extant practitioners and museumify a vibrant performance practice.

If you are also interested on working on the IM, please do contact me! I think it’s very important the we coordinate our efforts and include Iraqi scholars and performers however we can.