Hunter College Anthropology Professor Jonathan Shannon long has served as one of the foremost chroniclers of the rich history of traditional Syrian music. Sadly, war, exile, and natural disaster have diminished the art form and its “capital” city, Aleppo.
In the premier podcast of a new series, Mediterranean Intangible Heritage Soundscape Podcast, recorded before the tragic earthquake in Aleppo last year, Shannon talks about his field research and meetings with musicians before and after Syria’s civil war, which forced many into exile.
Shannon most recently co-edited Music and Cultural Diplomacy in the Middle East, just published by Palgrave Macmillan. The Mediterranean Intangible Heritage Soundscape Podcast is hosted by Prof. Paolo Scarnecchia of the Univ. Napoli l’Orientale/Conservatory of Latina (Italy) and produced by UNIMED, the Mediterranean Universities Union.
