International Performing Arts Resources
An introduction to researching music, theater, and dance from across the globe
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Middle East & North Africa Resources
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Middle Eastern and Central Asian StudiesContains more than 332,000 records from earlier than 1900 to the present on topics in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia.
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Index Islamicus (EBSCO)Indexes material on the Middle East and the Muslim world with periodicals, monographs, and more about the arts, humanities, history, and social sciences.
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Al-Bab: Theatre in the Arab WorldIntroduces different theater genres, such as shadow plays, and describes theater history in the Arab world.
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Arab Music ArchivesCovers classical, traditional, and modern Arab music with sample recordings and lists influential artists.
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GolhaArchives over 850 hours of radio programs containing spoken Persian poetry and music.
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Iran Chamber SocietyContains full-text articles about Iranian music and performing arts.
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Turkish Music PortalExplores Turkish music, composers, genres, and instruments, with sample audio recordings.
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HOLLIS for Archival DiscoveryContains several digital music collections from around the world, such as the Sema Vakf Collection of Turkish Classical Music and the Stephen Blum Collection of Music from Iranian Khorasan.
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Educational Resources on Palestine (Society for Arab Music Research = SAMR)Curated list of resources intended to provide university-level music and dance educators with relevant sources for understanding, contextualizing, and teaching Palestinian cultural practices as well as act as a starting point for understanding the role of music, dance, sound, and performance in Palestinian everyday life, resistance, and cultural practice in Palestine and elsewhere. Resources include articles and manuscripts, documentaries and feature films, musical recordings and transcripts, and online archives. Also included are suggestions for how to facilitate discussions as well as a list of active Palestinian musicians living within and outside of Palestine.
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International Journal of Middle East StudiesJournal publishing "research on politics, society and culture in the Middle East from the seventh century to the present day," emphasizing the humanities. (Print available. Call number: DS 41 .I62)
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The Journal of North African StudiesCovers "both country-based and regional themes which range from historical topics to sociological, anthropological, economic, diplomatic and other issues." (Print available: Call number: DT 160 J68)
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Journal of Musical Anthropology of the MediterraneanOpen-access journal containing articles on Middle Eastern music and culture.
Texts
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The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre by Don Rubin; Ghassan Maleh (Editor); Farouk Ohan (Editor); Samir Sarhan (Editor); Ahmed Zaki (Editor)
Call Number: PN 1861 .W67 1994 (Hatcher Library)Describes theater and language, women in theater, dance, and shadow puppetry from twenty-two Arab countries in the Middle East and Africa. -
Doomed by Hope by Eyad Houssami
Call Number: PN 2960 .A67 D66 2012 (Hatcher Library)Collection of essays tracing the history of Arab theater, concentrating on performance during revolution and revolt. It includes writers from across the Middle East with personal narratives and explores practices like performing in prisons, classrooms, and festivals. -
The Arab Avant-Garde: Music, Politics, Modernity by Thomas Burkhalter (Editor); Kay Dickinson (Editor); Benjamin J. Harbert (Editor)
Call Number: ML 348 .A73 2013 (Music Library)Anthology examining the many aspects of Arab music, improvisational techniques, performance styles, and more. -
Muslim Rap, Halal Soaps, and Revolutionary Theater: Artistic Developments in the Muslim World by Karin van Nieuwkerk
Call Number: DS 35.62 .M885 2011 (Hatcher Library)Collection of essays investigating the historical and structural conditions that create "artistic production and Islamic discourse in the Muslim world." Essays explore performing arts in the Muslim cultural sphere from Turkish rap and dance-theatre in Iran, to Syrian Sufi music.
Audiovisual Material
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Turkish Traditional Shadow Theater: KaragözFive discs containing twenty Karagoz plays, of various genres, performed by Metin Ozlen.
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Music From the Middle EastAn LP of eleven folk and traditional songs from Syria, a Bedouin camp, Iraq, and Palestine.
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Ibrahim Farrah Presents Nadia Gamal Dance WorkshopDVD presenting dance styles like Middle Eastern dance, basic Beledi, drum solo, and Bedouin dance from a workshop in 1981.
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Last Updated: Dec 10, 2025 12:21 PM
Subjects: Arts, International Studies
Tags: dance, drama, music, performing arts, theater, theatre, world music