Writing Histories of Music and Sound

Catalog description

This two-credit, half-semester music seminar teaches students to write historical research papers on music and sound, with the aim of preparing them for future independent studies, thesis projects, and other general academic and professional writing. We will study questions of historiography, archive, evidence, argument, and writing style. We will also address the challenges that music and sound’s effervescence presents to research and writing. In consultation with the instructor, students will choose individual research projects and submit final research papers at the end of the course. The course will unfold as a collaborative writing workshop, with students helping one another to formulate research questions, develop bibliographies, strengthen arguments, and refine prose