Musics and Appropriation Throughout the World

This course critically examines musical practices and appropriation through the amplification of intersectionality. We consider musics globally through recourse to ethnomusicological literature and critical race theories. Our approach begins from an understanding that the social and political contexts where musics are created, disseminated, and consumed inform disparate interpretations and meanings of music, as well as its sounds. Our goal is to shape our ears to hear the effects of slavery, colonialism, capitalism, nationalism, class, gender difference, militarism, and activism. We interrogate the process of appropriating musics throughout the world by making the power structures that shape privileges and exclusions audible.