MUSIC 2304

Sounds of Protest

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2014-2015.

This course focuses on the sounds of protest (the musics, noises, chants, songs, speeches, soundtracks, music videos and dances) that emerge from contemporary socio-political struggles such as the Occupy Wall Street Movement, the Arab Spring, Indigenous struggles, environmentalist campaigns and others. We will read and discuss texts by composers, aestheticians, political thinkers and activists. We will look at a wide array of audiovisual materials as case studies, analyzing their affects as well as their effectiveness, with case studies ranging from practices such as the "human megaphone," through music intended for concert hall performance, to performance-protests staged by the bands like Pussy Riot. We will consider the ways documentation (or alternatively, witnessing) itself operates as a form of musical and political expression. The course will take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of music and sound and put a special emphasis on the production of creative work. Prior knowledge in music and composition is welcome but not necessary.

When Offered Spring.

Distribution Category (LA-AS)

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