From Compton to Kabul: Sound, Power, and Global History

Catalog description

What can sound tell us about the world we live in today? From protest songs and radio broadcasts to hip-hop, Qawwali, and viral audio, this course explores how sound has shaped politics, identity, and culture across the globe. Moving from Compton to Kabul, we will encounter a wide range of artists and traditions from figures like Tupac Shakur, Ahmad Zahir, Miriam Makeba, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Asha Bhosle, Umm Kulthum, John Lennon, and Bob Marley to many others whose music has traveled across borders and shaped moments of revolution, resistance, and cultural change. Along the way, we'll ask: how does sound go global? How do governments, activists, and artists use it to shape what people believe and feel? And how do listeners reinterpret, remix, and give new meaning to what they hear? Drawing on songs, radio, film, and digital media, students will learn how to analyze sound as a powerful form of historical evidence. No musical background required, just curiosity and a willingness to listen differently.