The Music Department at SOAS is offering a 4-year stipend and fees for a doctoral student in ethnomusicology to join the ERC/UKRI project Maqām Beyond Nation. This project researches the field of music-making that spans from North Africa to Central Asia. It focuses on historically fluid and interconnected creative practices that were transformed into fixed repertoires under 20th-century nationalisms. The project specifically investigates new trends that cut across these nationalist models.
The research examines the potential of musical materials for new creativity and explores how a focus on expressive culture can enhance our understanding of broader issues such as musical or religious revival and forced migration across Asia. The case studies are located in fault lines across the maqām world, including the former Soviet-Chinese border and the border between Iran and Azerbaijan. These are crucial spaces where shared traditions of music-making were divided by 20th-century borders.
The eligibility criteria for this open call are as follows:
— The candidate must have an MA in Ethnomusicology or a relevant discipline.
— The candidate should have experience working with the music of one or more of the regions under study (Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, or the Arab world).
— Experience in ethnographic, archival, and/or analytical research is required.
— The candidate should have relevant linguistic and/or musical performance skills.
— Familiarity with relevant academic literature is expected.
The selected artist will receive an exceptional 4-year stipend and fees at the overseas or home level. This includes tuition fees coverage and a stipend of £20,000. For more information and to apply visit the website of SOAS University of London.
