In this seminar Yonna Stamatis (University of Illinois Springfield) explores the principal themes of a book in progress that engages contemporary rebetika performance in Greece to probe the democratizing potential of participatory music practices. Yonna’s work is in dialogue with the writings of political theorist Chantal Mouffe that harness critical artistic practices in the public sphere to the realization of agonistic democracy. Using the participatory music practices of the Rebetiki Istoria club in Athens as a case study, she further develops Mouffe’s work to understand the conditions under which counter-hegemonic music practices engender agonism. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research in the club, Yonna suggests that music practices offer a framework for overcoming fundamental shortcomings of agonistic theory and demonstrate the possibility for agonistic peace as a dynamic equilibrium between the constitutive political tensions of liberal democracy.

Registration closes at NOON on Wednesday, February 12th. If you do not have a Columbia ID, you will receive a QR code to access Faculty House.

Ιmage: Rebetiki Istoria. Courtesy of Yona Stamatis