MUSIC 3320 - Popular Music and Politics from a Global Perspective

(GB) (CA-AS)

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

J. Musser.

This course investigates the interaction between popular music and politics by exploring how global patterns of musical production, distribution, and consumption intersect with local musical styles to create new sounds and identities. By examining a variety of popular music repertories worldwide—from Michael Jackson’s celebration of multiculturalism to 1960s Hong Kong movie musicals—case studies in turn refract scholarly debates and problems: how do ideas of musical hybridity and authenticity shape notions of citizenship and diaspora? What is implied by industry labels like “world music”? How might the term “politics” change meaning in different contexts? Addressing this final question will necessitate exploring how political dissidents from Victor Jara to Trump-era punks have adopted musical strategies to facilitate social change, and the application of a critical ear to the acoustic and media-technological aspects of race, gender, age, and class.