MUS 203-01 - Regional Studies in World Music: African Music

4 credits (Fall)

This class introduces students to a diverse range of African musical practices from combined ethnomusicology and anthropological perspectives. Topics include music and spirituality, African Christianity, music, politics and the state, urbanization and popular culture, colonialism, and recent questions centered on modernity, globalization and music in Africa. We will examine the role of performance in political life, the nature of spirituality in performance, the relationship of modernity and tradition, and the role of music in shaping contemporary life in postcolonial Africa. We explore the diversity of musical practices on the African continent through intensive readings, engaged listening with audio and video recordings, and discussion.

Prerequisite: None.
Instructor: Perman

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