Anthropology of Music 1

Catalog description

This course introduces the study of music as culture, variously called the anthropology of music or ethnomusicology. The first part of the course will look broadly at the anthropological study of music and musicological study of humanity, delving into scholarly writings from the early twentieth century to the present. Students will examine how music has been conceptualized as a human endeavor, and how anthropological thinking on music has shaped scholarly and public conversations on culture, race, and ethnicity. The second part of the course will focus on the key anthropological method of ethnography, the recording and analysis of human practice, and its use in music studies. Students will read three full-length ethnographic books on musical topics to examine the utility of ethnographic research methods in music studies and explore the insights and dilemmas these methods present. Students will also try their own hands at ethnographic research and writing on music.