Roots To Modern Popular Music

Catalog description

P: MUSC 10500 with a grade of C- or better. Through a series of case studies, this course analyzes vernacular, oral, and popular Western Musical Traditions from the Civil War until today and wrestles with significance and definitions of these terms. Readings and recordings are discussed in a seminar-style learning environment; students will study the history of the recording industry, musical and recording technologies, and the evolution of listening practices and apply this knowledge in critical essays and presentations reflecting on contemporary recordings. Rather than present a strictly chronological approach to the evolution of musical style, genre, form, and function, this course will invite students to discern and scrutinize the different themes and cultural domains and through which music plays a role in our lives and empower students to embrace music as part of broader human experience.