Mar 29, 2024  
2020-2021 Interim Catalog 
    
2020-2021 Interim Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

MUS 322-01 - Advanced Studies in Music: Meaning and Social Value

4 credits (Spring)
The premise of this class is that music is meaningful and thus matters to the ways in which people connect with and relate to one another socially, politically, and spiritually. But how can this meaning be understood and explained? This course will introduce students to multiple theoretical tools that have been employed to analyze musical meaning in music studies broadly speaking. We pay particular attention to the need for different tools to explain musical meaning rather than linguistic meaning, as well as the balance between prioritizing sound or social context. Students will learn to connect the minutiae of musical sound to broader social practices and ideals. Special attention will be paid to the semiotic tools of Charles Peirce.

Prerequisite: Fourth-year music major.
Note: Plus-2 option available.
Instructor: Perman