MU 132 Exploring World Music

Overview of Course

Global aspects of music and its meaning with connections to the environment, sound, and world cultures.
This course takes an ethnomusicological approach to examining the role of music in culture and as culture. Traditional and popular musics in our various ports of call provide entry points for investigating how music enacts religion/cosmology, economy, politics, identity formation (e.g., gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race), and other social processes. Students will become familiar with basic musical, anthropological, and ethnomusicological concepts, learn to compare musical practices from different regions of the world, and explore how contemporary media and technology influence music production and consumption on a global scale. In addition to course readings, audio-visual materials, and occasional on-ship music-making opportunities, field experiences will present students an intimate opportunity to interact with diverse musical culture- bearers, to experience music and dance firsthand, and to consider their own roles as ethnographic observers, as consumers and as music-makers. No previous technical knowledge of music is required, but students will be expected to develop active listening skills alongside critical thinking and writing skills.