Mahsa Pakravan
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Soundscape, Sonic Experience, and Sonic memory in Iran: Jewish and Muslim Cultural Identity in Udlajan, Tehran by Mahsa Pakravan A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Music University of Alberta © Mahsa Pakravan, 2016 Abstract This dissertation explores the impact of everyday soundscape on cultural identity formation by considering the experiences of one neighborhood of Tehran, Iran before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Being home to a majority of Jews before the Revolution, Udlajan is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tehran. Through interviews with a select group of its current and past Jewish and Muslim residents, this research considers changes to the everyday soundscape of the neighborhood in order to examine the role of sounds and silences in the social construction of space. This dissertation proposes that sonic experiences are closely related to the ways people make sense of their cultural identity. By narrating sound memories along with other ones, people express their understanding of space, communications with other residents, sense of identity, self and otherness, norms of inclusion and exclusion. Their narratives as well as the sound observations made in the neighborhood help to create a sonic map and the sonic changes Udlajan has gone through in the past several decades. This thesis argues that through the sonic memories, the residents are able to share their thoughts and feelings about their Jewish and Muslim neighbors and manage to express their sense of identity as members of a religious community or citizens of Udlajan. ii Preface In the dissertation, I have italicized all Persian words and transliterated them phonetically except when they are commonly used words in English such as the words with “a” and do not use ”آ ا“ Shia and when they are song titles. Also, I represent the letter the macron over the “a” because it is not common in the English spelling of the Persian words which also contain this letter. For instance, words such as Tehran, Dastgah, Azan, and ”و“ Iran do not contain the macron over the “a.” Depending on the context, the letter becomes ”خ“ becomes “i” or “y.” The letter ”ی“ becomes either “u,” “ow,” or “o” and ,become “q.” Reflecting their pronunciation in Persian ”غ“ and ”ق“ ”,becomes “sh ”ش“ ”,kh“ as “z.” I ”ظ“ and ”,ذ“ ”,ز“ ”,ض“ are represented as “s” and ”ص“ and ”,س“ ”,ث“ the letter have left individuals’ names, article and book titles according to individuals’ and authors’ own spelling preference. I hope that this method of transliteration can give non-Persian speakers a somewhat accurate idea of the phonetic sound of words while preserving some aspects of their spelling for Persian speakers. iii To the memory of Maryam Kian iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank all the people who contributed in some way to the work described in this thesis. First and foremost, I thank my academic advisors, Dr. Federico Spinetti and Dr. Mary Ingraham for their guidance and support. Additionally, I would like to thank my committee members Dr. Michael Frishkopf, Dr. Mojtaba Mahdavi, and Dr. Margaret Walker for their significant comments and suggestions. My time at University of Alberta was made enjoyable in large part due to the many friends that became a part of my life. I am grateful for time spent with Elli and Hamidreza and all their help and support in the process of my dissertation writing. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for all their love and encouragement and most of all for my loving and patient husband Majid whose faithful support during the final stages of this Ph.D. is so appreciated. v Table of Contents 1. LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................................... VIII 2. CHAPTER 1- INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1. AN OVERVIEW .............................................................................................................................................. 3 1.2. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................................................. 4 1.3. WHY UDLAJAN? ........................................................................................................................................... 5 1.4. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................................. 7 1.5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 11 1.6. FIELDWORK: AN ETHNOGRAPHY THROUGH OBSERVATION, SONIC RECOLLECTION, AND FORGETTING .......................................................................................................................................................... 16 1.7. MY POSITION IN THE FIELD .................................................................................................................... 19 1.8. RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................................................ 23 1.9. SCHOLARLY CONTEXT .............................................................................................................................. 24 1.10. DISSERTATION ROADMAP .................................................................................................................... 29 2. CHAPTER 2. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOUNDSCAPE IN CULTURAL ANALYSIS ........... 31 2.1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 31 2.2. SOUNDSCAPE AND ITS ELEMENTS ......................................................................................................... 32 2.3. WHY IS THE STUDY OF SOUNDSCAPE IMPORTANT? ........................................................................... 36 2.4. VOICE AND SILENCE: POWER OR WEAKNESS ...................................................................................... 40 2.5. SOUND AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT ....................................................................................................... 45 2.6. UNWANTED SOUND, NOISE, AND PEOPLE’S SENSITIVITY ................................................................. 51 2.7. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................... 54 3. CHAPTER 3: SENSING UDLAJAN, THE SOUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD ........................... 56 3.1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 56 3.2. UDLAJAN: A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW .................................................................................................... 57 3.3. UDLAJAN TODAY’S SOUNDSCAPE ........................................................................................................... 61 3.4. PHASE ONE. SOUNDSCAPE ETHNOGRAPHY: TWO COFFEEHOUSES IN UDLAJAN ........................... 67 3.4.1. AN OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................................... 67 3.4.2. TRADITIONAL AND MODERN-TRADITIONAL COFFEEHOUSES IN TEHRAN ................................... 69 3.4.3. TWO COFFEEHOUSES IN UDLAJAN ..................................................................................................... 75 3.4.4. A COMPARATIVE GLANCE AT TWO COFFEEHOUSES ........................................................................ 84 3.5. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................... 86 4. CHAPTER 4: NATIONALISM, NATIONAL IDENTITY, AND THE QUESTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY IN IRAN .......................................................................................................... 89 4.1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................................... 89 4.2. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................................... 91 4.2.1. PAHLAVI ERA ......................................................................................................................................... 94 4.2.2. ISLAMIC REVOLUTION ........................................................................................................................... 97 4.3. RELIGIOUS MINORITIES: IRANIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY ................................................................. 100 4.4. NATIONAL IDENTITY, EVERYDAY LIFE, AND THE QUESTION OF CULTURAL IDENTITY ............. 107 4.5. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................................ 110 5. CHAPTER 5: ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD RESEARCH, NARRATIVES, AND MEMORIES 112 5.1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 112 vi 5.2. PHASE 2: ETHNOGRAPHY OF SONIC RECOLLECTION ....................................................................... 115 5.2.1. INTERVIEWS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND IRAN