Musicking Body
MUSC 117
Fall 2020
| Section:
01
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"What is this thing called music?" Christopher Small asks 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: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Selected readings from works by Christopher Small, Steven Mithen, John Blacking, John Baily, Judith Becker, Timothy Rice, Thomas Turino, Charles Keil and Steven Feld, Ellen Koskoff, Jane Cowan, Jane Sugarman, Anna Morcom, Matthew Rahaim, Ronald Radano and Philip Bohlman, Deborah Wong, Mark Katz, and others.
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Examinations and Assignments:
A "musicking autobiography," written responses to reading, listening, and viewing, and a creative project including an oral presentation and a final essay. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
The course is designed for 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. |
| Instructor(s): Daukeyeva,Saida Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: ONLINE; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 9 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: 0 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 1 |
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