NPR News: Rebecca Joubin on Conflict in Syria and the Power of Music

Rebecca Joubin, Davidson's Partin Assistant Professor of Arab Studies, comments in Jessica Jones' NPR report on Syrian composer Malek Jandali's "little tiny song... shaking an entire regime back home." The segment focuses on the haunting "Watani Ana [I Am My Homeland]" and provides a four-minute window in which to pause and reflect on the enduring power of the universal language of music.

"This [conflict in Syria] is a tragedy before our eyes," says Joubin of the strife that the United Nations estimates has taken more than 100,000 lives. "It's not something we're reading about in history books. It's right before our eyes."

And now, our ears.

Listen to the NPR story.