Tradition, Belonging, and the Performativity of Palestine

ACGIS Guest Lecture with Dr. David A McDonald

Monday, October 19, 2026 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT
Horizon Hall, 3225

Abstract

In this talk I investigate the ongoing Palestinian crisis through an ethnographic analysis of music, musicians, and protest songs. Based on this analysis I argue that a broadly construed theorization of political protest song is badly needed not only to advance our thinking on the dynamics of music performance and political engagement, but also to further our understanding of the larger affective, agential, group-forming capacities of musical thought and behavior. Drawing insight from the lives and experiences of Palestinian artists and activists, I discuss the pro-social aspects of Palestinian protest songs, focusing on the myriad ways in which genre, tradition, affect, and performance provide compelling resources for the embodiment of transgressive social action and larger political solidarities.

 

About the author

David A. McDonald is Professor of Anthropology and Ethnomusicology at Indiana University. Since 2002 he has worked closely with Palestinian artists and activists on the dynamics of sound, music, trauma, and exile. He is the author and editor of five books, including My Voice is My Weapon (Duke 2013); Palestinian Music and Song (IU Press 2013); and Holy Land Five: Palestinian Charity in the War on Terror (IU Press 2026). He can be reached at davmcdon@iu.edu.