Joseph Alpar

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Joseph Alpar's research focuses on the anthropology of music in Turkey and the Middle East, and the relationships between music, spirituality, modernity, marginalization, social expression, and identity.

Biography

Alpar is an ethnomusicologist, performer, and educator whose research centers on musical and religious practices in Turkey and former Ottoman territories. Alpar earned his PhD in ethnomusicology from The Graduate Center, City University of New York in May 2020, having completed a dissertation titled, “Music and Jewish Practice in Contemporary Istanbul: Preserving Heritage, Bending Tradition.” His research has been supported by fellowships from The American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT) and The Center for Jewish Studies at The Graduate Center, CUNY among other institutions. In addition to his academic work, Alpar is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and singer of Middle Eastern and Western art music. He is the director of David’s Harp, an acclaimed Philadelphia-based ensemble specializing in the music of Turkey, Greece, and North Africa. He has taught previously in the music departments of Swarthmore College, Temple University, and CUNY, Hunter College. Alpar was a visiting faculty member at Bennington for Spring 2018 and the 2019-2021 academic years. He joined the Bennington faculty in Fall 2021.

Courses

Fall 2025

Ethnomusicology, Music History, Society Culture and Thought, Anthropology
Fall 2025
Black Studies, Ethnomusicology, Music History, Anthropology
Fall 2025

Spring 2026

Fundamentals, Music Theory
Spring 2026
Ethnomusicology, Musical Performance
Spring 2026

Spring 2025

Music
Spring 2025
Music, Society Culture and Thought
Spring 2025

Fall 2024

Music
Fall 2024
Society Culture and Thought, Music
Fall 2024

Spring 2024

Music
Spring 2024
Music
Spring 2024

Fall 2023

Music, Society Culture and Thought
Fall 2023
Music
Fall 2023

Fall 2022

CAPA, Music, Society Culture and Thought
Fall 2022
Music, Society Culture and Thought
Fall 2022

Spring 2022

Music
Spring 2022

Fall 2021

Music
Fall 2021

Spring 2021

CAPA, Society Culture and Thought
Spring 2021
Music
Spring 2021

Fall 2020

CAPA, Music, Society Culture and Thought
Fall 2020