World Musics

MUSC 289/3.0

Overview

MUSC 289 is an introduction to the study of music in culture, based on world music traditions and evolutions. The human process of music-making is a global phenomenon and nearly a human universal, yet it offers an immense diversity of experience and meanings. This course enables students to explore these experiences and meanings, and to create their own understanding of a world of musics.

In this course, students will expand their general musical vocabulary and understanding, allowing them to connect musical practices and sounds around the globe. We will explore traditional as well as contemporary music-making in a variety of cultures, and apply sociological theory to examine how music functions to affect and reflect cultural norms.

The course is an essential stepping stone for students of musicology, but also serves as engaging learning for students whose educational path includes music for interest sake alone.

Please note the significant, mandatory group-work component of the course. Students must be prepared to work cooperatively with classmates to meet several peer-established deadlines.

Learning Outcomes

After completing MUSC 289, students will be able to:

  1. Identify elements of different music systems and differentiate universal and cultural elements.
  2. Analyze examples of musical fusion as types of cultural exchange.
  3. Explain connections between musical and cultural values and musical and social structures in a variety of traditions and societies.
  4. Assess the relationship between sonic expression and human society.
  5. Evaluate and critique concepts of musical tradition and community to interpret social constructions of musical meaning.