Music & Politics

Catalog description

Though often considered apart from social and political trends, music is central to thought and action in the public sphere. Whether in protest marches or in dance clubs, music challenges the belief that public opinion is expressed solely through language. We will concentrate on conflicts across lines of social identity: race, ethnicity, gender/sex, religion, and nationality. We will focus especially on racism against Black Americans in the U.S., anti-Semitism against Jews in Nazi Germany, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The course is open to all undergraduate students.