Music and Gender

Catalog description

In this course, we'll explore the relationship between gender and music in the West over the past 450 years. How have shifting rules and boundaries of gender identity interacted with similarly shifting rules and boundaries about beauty, function, and construction of music? In what ways has music helped to represent and/or define gender in culture? Further, how do gender identities intersect with other categories if social and cultural identity such as race, ethnicity, and class? This course will use a variety of case studies from popular and art music to explore the relationships between musical practice and gender identification, including: the courtesans and castrati of Baroque opera; Glam Rock; Clara Schumann, jazz singers; and Elvis Presley. Course open to both music majors and non-majors.