TOP Draft 7 Final Draft African Studies MA Thesis
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Diplomacy, Resistance and Jazz: Twentieth Century Meetings of Modern Music and Politics in the Horn of Africa A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirement for the degree Master of Arts in African Studies by Dexter Gordon Bryan Story 2019 © Copyright by Dexter Gordon Bryan Story 2019 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Diplomacy, Resistance and Jazz: Twentieth Century Meetings of Modern Music and Politics in the Horn of Africa by Dexter Gordon Bryan Story Master of Arts in African Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2019 Professor Aomar Boum, Chair This paper surveys a collection of music-related interactions, sanctions, circumstances and figures that embodies the spirit of diplomacy and defiance in the Horn of Africa during the twentieth century. The research will examine historic moments of goodwill, propagation, ingenuity and activism that altered the course of modern music culture in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan, where government officials, cultural ambassadors and, most significantly, musicians wield their authority, influence, popularity, instruments and voices beyond the traditional norms of their enterprise. Along these lines, the paper will discuss the expansive concept of jazz as symbolically appropriated and re-purposed by the performing artist and diplomat associated with the region. Although far from being exhaustive, this work engages with musical activity as a vehicle for information, identity, nationalism and broad meaning. ii The thesis of Dexter Story is approved. James Weldon Newton Robin Davis Gibran Kelley Aomar Boum, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2019 iii This thesis is dedicated to the ancestors; my mother and father Ethel and Benny Story; my wife Annette McClanahan Story; my children Cymone Aba Story, Bryan Yusef Kofi Story and Marissa Linda Starks; my mother-in-law Flora McClanahan; my extended family and friends; the late Dr.
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