Topic for Spring 2023: Music and Colonialism in the Early Modern Era
Prerequisites: MUCO 212 or MUCO 202
In this course, we will explore the role of music in colonialism from the 15th through the 18th centuries. We will learn to critique colonial-era primary source materials including musical works, traveler’s accounts, and images for what ideologies they reflect. We will also engage a wide variety of secondary sources, including postcolonial and decolonial scholarship, indigenous perspectives, and contemporary performances, that engage with colonial pasts and presents.

Topic for Spring 2023: Music in the U.S.
Prerequisites: MUCO 212 or MUCO 202
What does it mean for music to sound “American”? This course introduces case studies in the history of concert music and experimental music in the United States since the late nineteenth century, comparing the different ways that composers have sought to develop distinctly “American” styles and approaches. In addition to focusing on selected musical works, we will explore institutions, canons, and narratives of U.S. classical music.