The Politics of Street Sounds in Interwar Egypt

E556 | During the interwar period, the recording industry reshaped Egyptian culture and politics through music. But as we discuss in part two of our four-part series on "The Sound of Revolution in Modern Egypt," everyday sounds of the city are no less part of Egypt's political history. As our guest Ziad Fahmy explains, writing sonic history requires listening to the sources with ears attuned to the sentiments and sensibilities of past people. Together, we listen to a early recording of Egyptian street sounds and explore the world of sound that awaits within the textual record, focusing on how class dynamics played out on the soundscape of Cairo and Alexandria. We also consider how the rise of a new medium, radio, began to reshape the sonic life of ordinary Egyptians during the interwar period, paving the way for the media revolution of the 1950s and 60s. More at https://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2023/12/fahmy.html Ziad Fahmy is a Professor of Modern Middle East History at Cornell University’s department of Near Eastern Studies. Professor Fahmy is the author of Street Sounds: Listening to Everyday Life in Modern Egypt (Stanford University Press, 2020). Street Sounds was a co-winner of the Urban History Association's 2021 Award for Best Book in Non-North American Urban History. He also wrote Ordinary Egyptians: Creating the Modern Nation through Popular Culture (Stanford University Press, 2011), and is currently writing his third book, tentatively titled, Broadcasting Identity: Radio and the Making of Modern Egypt, 1925-1952. CREDITS Episode No. 556 Release Date: 3 December 2023 Sound production by Chris Gratien Sound Elements: Travel Penguin - Islamic Cairo, Al-Muizz Street - Egypt; Chris Gratien - Nightime Cab in Cairo (2005); Munira al-Mahdiyya - Aldahre Kata Awsali; Fox Movietone - Egyptian Army review; Egyptian Dancers; Cairo Street Scenes, 1928 (University of South Carolina Libraries); Ya Shabab El Nil - Umm Kulthum; جزء من مباراة بين الزمالك وانترناسونالي الإيطالي تعليق محمد لطيف