Music History

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Classes

ENVST 215/MUSICHST 215 : Music and Ecology: Studies in Interconnection

This course will examine embedded views of the relationship between humans and their environments in the context and function of music in different times and cultures. Music is both commonly a means of the most profound communication between humans and nature, and embodies cultural understanding and expression of the relationship, humans place in nature. Readings will include examination of music cultures, the expressed views and philosophies of the people in those music cultures, and studies of the ecological systems and ecological impacts of human actions where those people live.

Units

3

MUSICHST 150 : Introduction to World Music

This course is a survey of traditional music from around the world. It is designed to help students develop their skills in listening to, and describing music, and through this engagement, to deepen students’ appreciation of both the universal human activity of music-making and some of the specific cultures and peoples involved in it and their histories. The course is open to all students regardless of level of previous musical training.

Units

3

MUSICHST 215/ENVST 215 : Music and Ecology: Studies in Interconnection

This course will examine embedded views of the relationship between humans and their environments in the context and function of music in different times and cultures. Music is commonly both a means of the most profound communication between humans and nature, and an embodiment of cultural understanding and expression of this relationship, of humans’ place in nature. Readings will include examination of music cultures, the expressed views and philosophies of the people in those music cultures, and studies of the ecological systems and ecological impacts of human actions where those people live.

Units

3

MUSICHST 220 : Music, Mind and Brain

This course will explore the relationship between the universal human activity of music-making and biological and psychological aspects of our mental processes. Readings will be drawn from a range of disciplines, to include the physics of sound and hearing, the neurobiology of perception, the cognitive psychology of memory, temporal processing, emotion, entrainment, and expectation, the social psychology of functions such as communication, empathy and intercultural understanding, and related philosophical questions. These theoretical foundations will be applied to listening and music-making activities, but no prior experience is required. The primary goals are 1) to develop an enriched understanding of and appreciation for the function of music in human life, and 2) to develop an enriched understanding of and appreciation for the complexities of the human mind, through the lens of our musical activities.

Units

3

MUSICHST 250 : Music in Latin America

This course explores traditional and popular musical practices in Spanish-speaking Latin America. Focusing on the rich mixture of African, European, and indigenous cultures that characterize this region, the class will examine technical aspects of music itself, cultural contexts of musical creation and performance, and the historical development of particular musical styles. Case studies, explored through listening and reading, will highlight various local and national musical traditions and their presence in transnational migrant communities and emerging world music markets.

Units

3

MUSICHST 251 : Music in East and Southeast Asia

This course examines classical, folk, and popular music of East and Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on both technical aspects of music as well as its cultural and historical context. Topics may include court music and theater traditions, music and nationalism, folk music revitalization movements, music and politics, and the development of contemporary popular music styles. Individual case studies will be explored through extensive listening and the reading of musical ethnographies.

Units

3

MUSICHST 260 : Classical Music of the West: Middle Ages to the 20th Century

This course, open to students regardless of previous background in music, examines the history and development of what is often called “classical music,” the art music of Europe up to the 20th century. Students will focus on developing listening skills and thinking critically about musical compositions and styles, while learning about the social and cultural contexts in which the music was created.

Units

3

MUSICHST 310 : Women in Music

Women in Music is an investigation into and a celebration of women’s musical activities in a variety of capacities and musical traditions. The course will cover not only women composers in the Western tradition and some non-Western traditions, but also women performers, women patrons, and women as objects and symbols in the marketing and consumption of music.

Units

3

MUSICHST 320 : Music and Peacebuilding: Questions and Applications

This seminar course will investigate the possibility that musical activities (musicking) might contribute to peacebuilding. Beginning with examination of the common sense or assumption that this is true, students will explore the use of music in promoting war and other forms of violence, theories and methods developed in peace studies concerned with cycles and root causes of violence, and some institutional and non-institutional means of addressing them. Following this, we will explore, from multiple disciplinary perspectives, the function of music in social bonding, links to emotion and cognition, and case studies involving music in community therapy, conflict transformation and other peacebuilding efforts.

Units

3