John Schaefer

Education

• Ph.D. 2009, Anthropology (Folklore and Public Culture), University of Texas at Austin
• M.A. 2000, Anthropology (Cultural Anthropology), University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
• B.A. 1997, English, John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas

Recent Courses Taught

• ATH 155: What Does It Mean To Be Human?
• ATH 175: Global Cultural Diversity
• ATH 185: Cultural Diversity in the US
• ATH 231: Foundations of Cultural Anthropology
• ATH 358: Travelers, Migrants, and Refugees

Research Interests

I was born in Accra, Ghana, in 1974 and lived in northern Ghana until 1991, although my family members still live there and work as missionaries. Since 1997 my primary research area has been the Arab Middle East, in particular Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Morocco. My primary research interest is in musical roots and routes across the Sahara Desert. I am currently completing a book‐length manuscript with the tentative title of "The Black Sahara: Gnawa Identity and Spiritual Work in Morocco." The book derives from fieldwork conducted between 2001 and 2010 among Gnawa musicians in Morocco, who practice spirit possession and conduct trance healing rituals. I have also published and presented more broadly on such topics such as activism in Cairo's Tahrir Square, Moroccan protest music, psychedelic trance festivals, Arab influence in US classical composition, and the use of the Internet in Ghana. Additional research projects include refugee resettlement in Southwest Ohio. Prior to completing my dissertation, I taught at Ashland University and the College of Wooster (both in Ohio); Hartwick College (New York); and Wake Forest University (North Carolina). Between 2009 and 2012, I was an assistant professor of anthropology at the American University in Cairo.

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles:

2020, "American Freedom and Intersectional Citizenship in Wartime Arab Paris." Hésperis-Tamuda: Special Issue Part III—Anthropological Debate on
Maghreb Societies: Past and Present 55 (4): 51-68.

2017, "Frontstage Backstage: Participatory Music and the Festive Sacred in Essaouira, Morocco." Western Folklore 76(1): 69-99.

2016, "Discrete/Discreet Appropriation: Paul Bowles, Non-Western Music, and Race in Tangier." Journal of North African Studies 21(4):1-29.

2016, "Observations on Gnawa Healing in Morocco: Music, Bodies and the Circuit of Capital." Performing Islam 4(2): 173-182.

2012, "Protest Song Marocaine." Middle East Report 263:20-32.

Book Chapters:

2015, "Middle Eastern Music and Popular Culture." In Soraya Altorki, Ed., Companion to the Anthropology of the Middle East. London: Wiley-Blackwell. Pp. 495-507.

2006, "Discussion Lists and Public Policy on iGhana: Chimps and Feral Activists." In Kyra Lanzelius, Ed., Native on the Net: Indigenous and Diasporic Peoples in the Virtual Age. London: Routledge.

Proceedings:

2005, "Rhythms of Power: Interaction in Musical Performance." Texas Linguistic Forum 48:167-176.

Guest Reviewer

• Oxford University Press
• I.B. Tauris (London)
• Brill Publishers (Leiden)
• Brussels Studies: the e-journal for academic research on Brussels
• Studies in Musical Theatre (Bristol)
• Anthropology of the Middle East Journal (New York)
• Globalizations (London)
• ALIF: Journal of Comparative Poetics (Cairo)
• Contemporary Islam (Dordrecht)
• Text, Practice, Performance (Austin, Texas)

 

National Office

Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association: Secretary (2017-2020), Nominating Committee (2015), Webmaster (2014-2020)