MUSI336

Music is a key component of popular culture. This course examines some of the “hidden” and not-so-hidden histories of popular music by exploring literature and key concepts related to popular music studies. Students interrogate popular music using major interpretive, analytical and critical methods, and apply them during units such as “Music?,” “The Culture Wars,” “Music & Race,” “Behind the Music,” and “Public Musicology: Rockumentaries.” This course addresses the production, commodification, and consumption of popular music, as well as pop music’s intersections with other arts. The readings for each unit, drawn from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including history, sociology, musicology, ethnomusicology, cultural studies, and communication provide the foundation for in-class discussions and assignments. The course satisfies CA-School Core-300 Level, and is Writing Intensive