Enacting a Genre: Resounding Echoes in Alevi Music in Turkey

INVITATION to a LECTURE

In the Musicology Lecture Series (Fall/Winter 2024/25)

Dr. Faruk Çalışkan

(Istanbul Technical University)

Enacting a Genre: Resounding Echoes in Alevi Music in Turkey

Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 19:00 (Turkish time; GMT +3)

Faruk Çalışkan recently completed his Ph.D. thesis, which examined the commercial and non-commercial recordings of âşık (minstrel) music across various genres that circulated on digital platforms in the 2000s. This dynamic process involves a broad spectrum of actors—singers, bağlama players, collectors, archivists, and the music industry itself. By tracing these re-enactments and the roles of various human and non-human actors, his thesis reconsiders the circulation of âşık music in a kaleidescopic manner and highlights its multidimensional presence and influence. By taking the legacies of âşık Mahzuni and âşık Nesimi in the 2000s as case studies, he demonstrates how these actors’ songs prompt us to rethink the diverse and multilayered nature of âşık music.

As a bağlama player, Çalışkan brings his experience to his research, in which he navigates between the roles of listener, performer, and scholar. As a listener, he observes how differently âşıks are imagined; as a performer, he experiences how

âşıks imagine themselves, their positions, roles, and their legacies; and as a scholar, he observes the wide network of mainstream artists and folk music performers, including bağlama players and instrument makers.

In his talk, Çalışkan will address the processes underlying the multilayered nature of Alevi music as a genre and the ontological diversity that emerges from the enactments of the actors involved. By framing his approach within the concept of [echo]logy based on the sociology of associations that emphasizes the coexistence of human and non-human actors, he stresses that the evolving configurations of Alevi music must be understood within a relational context. By viewing Alevi music as an ever-transforming projection shaped by these associations, he highlights the need to consider its multidimensional nature and entanglements.

Faruk Çalışkan is a research assistant and lifelong performer of the bağlama, identifying himself as a heritage musician in Alevi music. His work focuses on âşık (minstrel) music in Turkey, exploring the diversity, multiplicity, and ever-evolving „echologies“ that define this multifaceted tradition.

Since 2015, Faruk Çalışkan has been focusing on the performative transformation of the tradition of playing the bağlama without a plectrum, known as the Şelpe technique, following developments after the 1980s. In addition, since 2021, his research has centered on the commercial and non-commercial circulation of âşık music in the 2000s, grounded in ethnographic and archival fieldwork. In 2024, he received his PhD in musicology and music theory from Istanbul Technical University. He also holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree in musicology from Istanbul Technic University.

His PhD research was supported by ITU BAP and The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK). He spent one year as a visiting researcher at the University of Texas. To date, he has published five articles in international and national academic journals, contributed chapters to a book, and presented at five conferences.

As a musician, he is active in both the music industry and academia, performing on plectrum instruments such as the bağlama, lavta, and tanbur, as well as traditional woodwind instruments like the duduk and mey. His performances complement his research, blending music analysis with an exploration of the social components of music. Currently, he works as a research assistant at Istanbul Technical University, where he teaches courses on folk music repertoire and theory.

This event is free of charge, the event language is English. You may attend in person or online. Registration only needed for attending in person.

Photos or videos will be taken during the event. By participating, you agree that these may be used on the OII website, newsletter and social media. The event will not be recorded.

VENUE

Orient-Institut Istanbul

Galip Dede Cad. 65, Şahkulu Mah., TR – 34421 Istanbul

Tel: +90 212 293 60 67 oiist@oiist.org   www.oiist.org

REGISTRATION

To join this invitation IN PERSON, please register here:

To join this invitation ONLINE please use the Zoom Link, NO registration necessary:

https://maxweberstiftung.zoom-x.de/j/66600166306?pwd=u4HfosWap79hr0BJbM1V3XCnpH3bcN.1

Toplantı Kimliği: 666 0016 6306

Parola: 595492