| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Theodore Levin, Saida Daukeyeva, and Elmira Köchümkulova (eds), THE MUSIC OF CENTRAL ASIA (Indiana University Press, 2016), www.musicofcentralasia.org
Various articles and book chapters
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly forum posts, a midterm test, and a final project mapping out the soundscape of a geographic area in Central Asia |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Topic: Musical Geographies of Central Asia
For centuries, Central Asia has been a crossroads of civilizations and cultures connecting East and West and a territory contested by political powers. Its modern history--from imperial and Soviet domination to the emergence of independent nation-states--has witnessed a profound transformation of the region's political geography, bringing into sharp relief complexities of its geocultural demarcations. How have music and sound responded to changes in the bounding of Central Asia's geopolitical space? How do borderland communities negotiate their senses of territorial belonging musically amid a confluence of ethno-nationalism with transnational and global cultural trends? What can continuity or difference in musical expression across borders, both within Central Asia and with contiguous areas of Eurasia, tell us about the region's sociocultural history and the interplay of ethnic and national identities in the twenty-first century? This seminar will address these questions by discussing a range of music practices from the former Soviet Central Asia, Mongolia, northwestern China, and Afghanistan. It will explore soundscapes of the region through the lens of historical interactions between nomadic and sedentary societies, Turkic-Mongolian and Iranian cultures, Islam and pre-Islamic spiritual beliefs. It will examine the impact on indigenous musical traditions of colonialism, nationalism, and globalization. Students will be introduced to interdisciplinary literature on the musical construction of place and borders and gain an understanding of the role of music in cultural discourses of belonging and identity. |
| Instructor(s): Daukeyeva,Saida Times: ..T.R.. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: MST301; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 8 | JR major: 7 | | |
| Seats Available: 9 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
| SECTION 02 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
TBA |
Examinations and Assignments:
TBA |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Topic: Experimental Spaces Between Music and Image
This seminar examines the relationship between music¿s oral and written practices. Tracing a thread from medieval notations through to contemporary scores, we investigate the shifting tensions between the sonic and the visual over a long arc of music history. Why were sounds inscribed in the 9th century? How do 1960s scores reflect the radicalism of their era? Connections across centuries shed light on musicians for whom the creative potential of notation surpasses its descriptive and prescriptive functions. Featured composers will include Hildegard of Bingen, Guillaume de Machaut, Baude Cordier, Iannis Xenakis, George Brecht, Earle Brown, John Cage, Cornelius Cardew, Cathy Berberian, Brian Eno, Yoko Ono, Julius Eastman, Pauline Oliveros, Wadada Leo Smith, and Mark Applebaum. Overarching themes include the history of notation (music as image), music as part of a visual entity (music in image), music as the backdrop (music behind image), and music as the larger category (music beyond image). Believing that material form shapes the reading experience, we will engage directly with relevant primary sources. Final projects can be designed to cater to divergent areas of musical expertise.
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| Instructor(s): Alden,Jane Times: .M.W... 10:50AM-12:10PM; Location: MST301; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 8 | JR major: 7 | | |
| Seats Available: 1 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: X |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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