FYS337

How do "first" musical experiences affect individuals and societies? Has a single hearing of any music transformed the way one views oneself and the world? These questions are perhaps most dramatically addressed in the cross-cultural musical encounter. From the age of "discovery" to the present day, the intercultural musical experience has been a focus of aesthetic pleasure, artistic exchange, colonial and racist constructions, identity formation, missionary zeal, and exoticist fantasy. In this seminar, students explore cross-cultural musical encounters from a variety of perspectives and are introduced to the concept of "music as culture."