Women and Music

Catalog description

This course will explore the musical activities of women from Christian mysticism in the Middle Ages to women in popular music of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In unraveling the historical complexities of women in music, we will take into account the cultural values and historical conditions that have surrounded women as composers, teachers, performers, listeners, and patrons. We will also consider how male composers have depicted womanhood in art and popular music. To contribute to our understanding, we will analyze specific musical works and performances and read scholarship in music criticism that addresses how music has shaped notions of womanhood. Our aim is to gain practical experience in interpreting how music has represented, reinforced, questioned, or challenged gender ideology within particular historical moments.