The Anglo-Ethiopian Society
Lecture - Joe Loss Lecture Series: No. 3 - Bole, Harlem, Tel Aviv: Ethiopian-Israeli Musicians Play the Diaspora
Dr Ilana Webster-Kogen
Thursday 5th February 2015
The third talk in the Joe Loss Lecture Series organised by the Jewish Music Institute
6:30 - 8:30 pm in Room L67, SOAS, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London, WC1H 0XG.
Tickets to the talk can be purchased via Eventbrite - Members of the public £7.83; Senior, Unwaged £7.83; Free for current SOAS Students
In popular representations of the Israeli state and its others, Ethiopian migrants are alternately deployed as a key example of institutional racism or inclusiveness, depending on the perspective of the narrator. In the past several years, though, Ethiopian-Israeli musicians like Abate Barihun and Ester Rada have quietly developed a following in Europe and back in Ethiopia. These musicians have built international careers that, in turn, bring Ethiopian musicians to Tel Aviv as a new stop on their touring routes. In this lecture, I will describe the process by which Ethiopian musicians have established Tel Aviv as a central node in the Ethiopian diaspora, and how the import of popular African musicians has earned the marginalized Ethiopian-Israeli population social capital as citizens.
Ilana Webster-Kogen is the Joe Loss Lecturer in Jewish Music at SOAS, University of London. She specializes in the music of the Ethiopian diaspora, and conducts research among Ethiopian migrants in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Her current book project examines the central role of music in constructing citizenship narratives among Ethiopians in Tel Aviv. At SOAS, she teaches the classes Music and Culture, Global Hip-Hop, and Jerusalem: Soundscapes of Nation and Conflict. She earned her Ph.D. at SOAS in 2011.
More information on the event can be found on the Jewish Music Institute website.
