| Music of Africa:
This course examines histories, social contexts, and aesthetics of music making throughout the African continent with a focus on the past 80 years. Students will learn to identify musicians and musical genres illustrative of the continent¿s immense creative output. We will also analyze and discuss how these examples illuminate histories of colonialism, independence movements, the Cold War, and globalization. The semester is structured into four sections that address the geographical areas of North, West, Central/South, and East Africa. Course materials include general interest magazine and news articles, academic publications, podcasts, blogs, documentary films, music videos, and sound recordings, which will elucidate the intersections of local music traditions and current expressions of globalized music forms in African cities. Though no previous musical background is required, students will learn to critically analyze recordings as well as perform some basic musical concepts. |
| Introduces the student to music from all over the world, and expands concepts of music in the process. Students learn about different instruments from other cultures and how they influence the music they produce, and explore common features of Asian, European, African, American, and Oceanic music. Students also learn different ways of listening. Designed for non-majors. Requires no musical background. |
