Musicking Body (FYS)
MUSC 117F
Fall 2019
| Section:
01
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"What is this thing called music?" asks Christopher Small in his book "Musicking" (1998) and observes, "Music is not a thing at all but an activity, something that people do." Taking a cue from Small's concept of 'musicking' as an inherently social and physical process, this course will explore the role of the human body in the act of music performance and the creation of musical meaning. We will discuss interdisciplinary approaches to the study of music as embodied experience, drawing insight from fields as diverse as philosophy, feminist and performance studies, anthropology, ethnochoreology, and ethnomusicology. We will examine the modes, aesthetics, and cultural connotations of bodily expression, movement, and gesture in a variety of music and dance traditions worldwide--from Sufi-shamanic rituals in Central Asia to Indian classical vocal music, and from drumming and martial arts in East Asia to African American popular genres. By engaging with a range of theoretical perspectives and case studies of embodied sounds, we will reflect on the corporeal, sensory aspects of music performance and perception, the tacit nature of learning and transmission, the intersections of human musicking with the environment and technology, and the ways in which the musicking body is entangled with the physical, social, spiritual, and political forces that shape our lives. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA MUSC |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (MUSC) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 | | Special Attributes: FYS |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Selected readings from works by Christopher Small, John Blacking, Judith Becker, John Baily, Timothy Rice, Thomas Turino, Ellen Koskoff, Adrienne Kaeppler, Charles Keil and Steven Feld, Jane Cowan, Jane Sugarman, Anna Morcom, Matthew Rahaim, Katherine In-Young Lee, Deborah Wong, Suzel Reily and Katherine Brucher, and others.
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Examinations and Assignments:
A 'musicking autobiography' (2 p.), four written responses to reading, listening, and viewing (2 p. each), and a research project including an oral presentation and a final essay (10 p.). |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
The course is designed for first-year undergraduate students from a range of study programs, including, but not limited to, music, dance, theater, and feminist, gender, and sexuality studies. No special knowledge of music is required for attending this course. Emphasis is placed on developing writing skills and applying the interdisciplinary methods and vocabulary studied in the course. |
| Instructor(s): Daukeyeva,Saida Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: OLIN327B; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: X | JR major: X | | |
| Seats Available: 7 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: X | JR non-major: X | SO: X | FR: 15 |
| 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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