Journal Articles by Christina Woolner
American Ethnologist, 2022
Both music and love are conspicuously absent from the public soundscapes of Hargeysa, Somaliland.... more Both music and love are conspicuously absent from the public soundscapes of Hargeysa, Somaliland. But behind closed doors, people listen to love songs. In doing so, these lonely love sufferers and love hopefuls make sense of various challenges. Using accounts from a cross section of Somalilanders, I show that these solitary listening practices open into uniquely intimate and transformative opportunities for dareen-wadaag (feeling sharing). These opportunities critically depend both on listeners' attention and intention, and on the culturally elaborated affective affordances of love songs' "voice"-a voice that is conceived as "love incarnate" and that models intimacy. In short, listeners do not just listen to love songs; they listen to love. Their listening practices call for anthropological models that more fully account for the relationship between culturally situated ears and voices, as well as for the complex interrelation of sound, affect, and subjectivity. [listening, aurality, love and intimacy, voice, iconicity, sound and affect, music, Somaliland]
Ethnomusicology, 2021
In this article, I use my oud lessons in Somaliland as point of departure to reflect on the analy... more In this article, I use my oud lessons in Somaliland as point of departure to reflect on the analytical and methodological potential of musical apprenticeship, with a particular focus on what and how we might learn from playing “out of time” and “out of tune”. Organized around three lessons, each beginning in a moment of “mis-tuning”, I reflect both on what it means to become the kind of person who can make music in a religiously-contested post-war context, and on the process of mistake-making by which apprentices come into new knowledge about music-making and musical personhood.
In response to critiques of the extraverted and mimetic nature of post-colonial education have co... more In response to critiques of the extraverted and mimetic nature of post-colonial education have come various efforts to decolonize Africa's universities. At first blush, the University of Hargeisa’s Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies’ (IPCS) stated commitment to teaching indigenous knowledge appears to follow this trend. In practice, however, IPCS has established itself as an intentionally ‘modern’ Institute valued by staff and students alike for the ‘extraverted’ globally oriented education it provides. Against the view that this proclivity for the modern simply represents the presence of an enduring colonial mentality, this article explores how, why, and to what effect an intentionally ‘modern’ education has been implemented at IPCS. I build on Bayart’s concept of ‘extraversion’ to show how invocations of modern and indigenous knowledge entail various claims to inclusion that reflect internal social changes, Somaliland’s hybrid political order, and lack of recognition. Drawing on ethnographic research that included classroom observation, interviews and informal interactions with staff and students, and reflection on my own teaching experiences, I explore how staff and students have embraced particular modes of education as a means to both ‘engage the world’ and increase their own opportunities for domestic political and socio-economic inclusion. Furthermore, I show that IPCS’ approach has not led to the devaluation of indigenous knowledge, but has instead facilitated debate about the relative merits of different knowledge systems for contemporary Somaliland. This case highlights the value of approaching (post)colonial educational institutes not simply as sites where knowledge is passively ‘imbibed’, but rather as compelling windows into complex processes of social change.
Book Chapters by Christina Woolner
Music and Dance in Eastern Africa
Book Reviews by Christina Woolner
Other Media by Christina Woolner
Opened in 2014, Hiddo Dhawr is Somaliland’s first and only live music venue to operate since the ... more Opened in 2014, Hiddo Dhawr is Somaliland’s first and only live music venue to operate since the 1988 civil war, which decimated the capital Hargeysa, and displaced the artistic community. In this episode, social anthropology PhD candidate Christina Woolner visits Hiddo Dhawr – which specializes in the performance of acoustic music popular before the war – to explore what it means to sing, and particularly about love, in contemporary Hargeysa. Conversations with the venue’s founder Sahra Halgan, reflections from some young patrons, and an evening taking in the music reveal the many meanings of love songs, and offer insight into the social and political climate of life in a post-war, unrecognized state.
Other Articles by Christina Woolner
Papers by Christina Woolner
Africae eBooks, 2018
In August 2014, Hiddo Dhawr – a cultural restaurant and “tourism village” – opened its doors in H... more In August 2014, Hiddo Dhawr – a cultural restaurant and “tourism village” – opened its doors in Hargeysa, becoming the first live music venue to operate in Somaliland since the war. In this chapter I explore how Hiddo Dhawr, and particularly the live performance of old love songs, are implicated in the shaping of post-war publics in contemporary Somaliland. Drawing on ethnographic data, I seek to unravel how Hiddo Dhawr’s mission of “heritage preservation”, twinned with its near exclusive focus on love songs, work to create space for the performance of music in contested terrain, providing audiences with the resources to reflect on the past, imagine different futures, and enact different ways of being in the present. I suggest that in so doing, Hiddo Dhawr’s audiences constitute a kind of alternative public, one where a “traditional” Somali identity is celebrated while audiences are freed to push the limits of everyday social conventions
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) Cambridge International Trust (Smuts Mem... more Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) Cambridge International Trust (Smuts Memorial Fund)
Journal of Eastern African Studies, Jul 2, 2016
In response to the view that the 'extraverted' or 'mimetic' nature of post-colonial universities ... more In response to the view that the 'extraverted' or 'mimetic' nature of post-colonial universities reveals an enduring 'colonial mindset' have come various efforts to 'decolonize' African universities by incorporating indigenous knowledge.1 At first blush, the University of Hargeisa's (UoH) Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies' (IPCS) stated commitment to teaching indigenous knowledge appears to follow this trend. In practice, however, IPCS has established itself as an intentionally 'modern' Institute valued by staff and students alike for the 'extraverted' globally-oriented education it provides. Against the view that this proclivity for the modern simply represents the presence of an enduring colonial mentality, this article explores how, why and to what effect an intentionally 'modern' education has been implemented at IPCS. I build on Bayart's concept of 'extraversion' to show how invocations of modern and indigenous knowledge entail various claims to inclusion that reflect internal social changes, Somaliland's hybrid political order, and lack of recognition. Drawing on ethnographic research that included classroom observation, interviews and informal interactions with staff and students, and reflection on my own teaching experiences, I explore how staff and students have embraced particular modes of education as a means to both 'engage the world' and increase their own opportunities for domestic political and socioeconomic inclusion. Furthermore, I show that IPCS' approach has not led to the devaluation of indigenous knowledge, but has instead facilitated debate about the relative merits of different knowledge systems for contemporary Somaliland. This case highlights the value of approaching (post)colonial educational institutes not simply as sites where knowledge is passively 'imbibed', but rather as compelling windows into the 'complexities and contradictions of social change'.2
Both music and love are conspicuously absent from Hargeysa's public soundscapes, but behind c... more Both music and love are conspicuously absent from Hargeysa's public soundscapes, but behind closed doors lonely love-sufferers and love-hopefuls make sense of various love challenges by listening to love songs. Accounts of the solitary listening practices of a cross-section of Somalilanders reveal this listening to open into uniquely intimate and transformative opportunities for dareen-wadaag (feeling-sharing). These opportunities critically depend on both the attention and intention with which listeners listen and the culturally-elaborated affective affordances of the "voice" of love songs – voices conceived as "love incarnate," and that model intimacy. In short, listeners do not just listen to love songs, they listen to love. These listening practices call for anthropological models that more fully account for the relationship between culturally situated ears and voices, and the complex interrelation of sound, affect and subjectivity.
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Journal Articles by Christina Woolner
Book Chapters by Christina Woolner
Book Reviews by Christina Woolner
Other Media by Christina Woolner
Other Articles by Christina Woolner
Papers by Christina Woolner
At first listen, both music and talk about love are conspicuously absent from Somaliland’s public soundscapes. The lingering effects of war, the contested place of music in Islam, and gendered norms of emotional expression limit opportunities for making music and sharing personal feelings. But while Christina J. Woolner was researching peacebuilding in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeysa, she kept hearing snippets of songs. Almost all of these, she learned, were about love. In these songs, poets, musicians, and singers collaborate to give voice to personal love aspirations and often painful experiences of love-suffering. Once in circulation, the intimate and heartfelt voices of love songs provide rare and deeply therapeutic opportunities for dareen-wadaag (feeling-sharing). In a region of political instability, these songs also work to powerfully unite listeners on the basis of shared vulnerability, transcending social and political divisions and opening space for a different kind of politics.
Taking us from 1950s recordings preserved on dusty cassettes to new releases on YouTube and live performances at Somaliland’s first postwar music venue—where the author herself eventually takes the stage—Woolner offers an account of love songs in motion that reveals the capacity of music to connect people and feelings across time and space, creating new possibilities for relating to oneself and others.