Apr 24, 2024  
Undergraduate Bulletin 2014-2015 
    
Undergraduate Bulletin 2014-2015 [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

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LAS 249 - Music and Diversity: How Popular Music Binds and Divides Us

3 hours
For at least 30,000 years, since the earliest known instrument, a small flute, humankind has engaged in music making. In this class, we will explore the role that music has had in building up and breaking down the walls that divide us. For music that binds, we study religious music, military marches, and music as an aphrodisiac. We will explore how African-American music was the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll and inspiration for the Beatles. We will also study the divisive nature of music: Rap is black, C&W is white, and classical is WASP. Music fosters division by playing off stereotypes. We will study the 1979 Disco Demolition and ask “what that was all about” and examine 70s white power rock and its effect on rallying neo-Nazi groups. Students will have a capstone project where they discuss the impact of the current music that they listen to and argue that it either bridges or deepens the divide between races and cultures.



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