Music: Conflict, Protest, and Peace

Catalog description

How can music provide a framework for understanding conflict, as well as protest and peace movements, across a wide range of historical and cultural contexts from the twentieth century to the present? This seminar examines the role that diverse musical traditions and practices play in shaping the complex sociological rituals of war. Whether hearing John Lennon's song "Give Peace a Chance" as the anthem of the peace and protest movement against the Vietnam War during the 1960s or engaging with music as a basis for cultural and heritage preservation in post-conflict contexts, this seminar draws on scholarship from musicology, ethnomusicology, sound studies, and sociology, among other fields, to explore music as a contested practice during times of conflict.