Music and Politics. 3 credits, 3 contact hours

Catalog description

Prerequisites: ENGL 102 with a grade of C or higher, and one History and Humanities GER 200 level course with a grade of C or higher. The course explores the nature of music as an instrument for personal, cultural, and political change. We will discuss the power of music to influence political attitudes in liberation movements throughout history and around the world, as well as in fascist regimes and political campaigns. This course also discusses the co-optation of art by capitalism and through modern technology. Genres to be analyzed include indigenous musics, slave songs, the blues, folk, rock and roll, punk, hip hop, jazz, afro-beat, latin music (e.g., nueva canción), and a variety of experimental genres. Course materials are derived from philosophy, history, aesthetics, anthropology, and political theory.