Music & American Culture

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to major musical and cultural issues in the United States in the twentieth century from an ethnomusicological perspective. It explores and critiques how race, gender, sexuality, colonialism, and North American imperialism were and are constructed to shape our understanding of music and sound. Specifically, the course concentrates on contemporary popular music in its historical, social, political, and cultural contexts as mediated through performances and recording technologies, as well as diverse approaches to music-making and musical engagement. Students will (a) confront broader philosophical and critical understandings of music and sound through feminist, critical race theory, and postcolonial lenses, (b) gain a comprehensive understanding of socio-political that are relevant to popular music and colonialism from an ethnomusicological perspective, (c) analyze, interpret, and think critically about American musical, auditory, and sonic cultural practices with respect to historical power relations.