MUS 180AMusic, Context, and Meaning

Catalog

This course sequence will seek to understand the intersections between music traditions or practices, the communities which support and sustain them, and how music resonates with the values, aspirations, beliefs, and aesthetics of its intended audience. This type of inquiry is the focus of the discipline of ethnomusicology, a field of study that combines music and cultural anthropology with other areas of the humanities including history, gender and LGBTQ studies, as well as area studies like Africana, Latin American and Caribbean, and Asian. Ethnomusicological research seeks to situate a music form within its particular historical and cultural context, whether Chinese migrants in New York City, punk rock bands in Binghamton, Puerto Rican independence celebrations in Rochester, or funeral drum societies in West Africa. In the first semester, students will gain an understanding of academic research methods, project design, conducting fieldwork, and how to apply for grants and other forms of research funding. We will review a range of ethnomusicological studies in order to recognize how the various theoretical approaches and methodologies of previous scholarship impacts the direction of their published work. Students will select a music community, tradition, or group that they wish to work with, and will make connections with artists, participants, and knowledgeable insiders. In the second semester, students will focus on writing, editing, and presenting their research, with the aim of producing a polished essay that demonstrates their knowledge, writing skills, and academic potential. They will work closely with the instructor to edit and revise their work, as well as how to structure an effective oral presentation that encapsulates the essence of their research and findings.