Anthropology of Music

SAME AS SCA-UA 721.

This course explores the role of sound, music and listening in human spirituality. We will probe the ways in which musical practices shape and are shaped by diverse spiritual experiences. Our case studies cover a range of cultural and historical contexts, and include: Islamic cantillation, Beethoven symphonies, Buddhist chant, Tuvan throat-singing, African American gospel, and New Age soundscapes. We will also explore the spiritual dimensions of popular musics, such as hip hop, heavy metal, and EDM. Our topics of discussion will include: ideas of the sacred and the profane; sound in world religions; ethics and aesthetics; music and healing; the politics of religious belonging; and contemporary experiences of spirituality outside of organized religion. AREA OF STUDY: Music, History, and Cultures.

These courses explore the many ways that musical practices are deeply embedded in social life. Through engagement with histories, politics, economic flows, and individual biographies, students encounter music's and sound's centrality to culture and society. Topics vary by semester.