On behalf of SAMR co-chairs Shayna Silverstein and Nour El-Reyes, it gives me great pleasure to announce that this year’s SAMR Keynote Lecture will be given by Hamed Sinno, Visiting Lecturer at Dartmouth College and former lead singer of the indie rock band Mashrou` Leila.

Friday November 6, 2026 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Redbud Room, Indiana Memorial Union
Zoom Webinar Link: https://iu.zoom.us/j/82025881128

“Decolonial Non-Aesthetics: The Re-Disputed Terrain of Orientalism After October”
H. Sinno, Visiting Lecturer (Dartmouth College)

Abstract: This conversation focuses on the double bind facing Arab cultural producers in the current moment, as they navigate the pressure to perform a “visibly other” Arabness for global platforms on one hand, and on the other are being policed into sonic essentialism by well-intended decolonial frameworks that prescribe what Arabness should sound like. At a moment when Lebanon is being re-colonized and Palestine is under siege, metaphors of “decolonizing sound” feel inadequate against the weight of really-existing colonialism. We sit with this discomfort, refusing easy resolution while asking what it means to care for sound in and from the region right now.

Bio: H. Sinno is a writer, musician, and performer. Former front-person of indie rock band Mashrou’ Leila, their recent solo work has been showcased at The Met, Barbican Centre, and National Sawdust. They are a visiting lecturer in Sonic Practice at Dartmouth College.

Please feel free to circulate this announcement to all who might be interested in attending either in person or on zoom.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Bloomington, Davy McDonald