2025-2026 Catalog

MUSC 285 Topics in the Critical Study of Popular and Non-Western Music

Various topics are offered. These courses introduce students to the critical study of popular and non-Western music. Students will learn to locate musical genres and styles in relation to the historical, social, and cultural context that engender them, while learning new approaches to formal analysis. Each fulfills the College-wide Second-Stage Writing Requirement


Music and Gender

This course will address the ways in which gender is expressed through music and sound, and relatedly, how music shapes gender discourse. Through a mapping across genres of popular music, we will explore the role of gender embedded in the relationships between performers and listeners. Specifically, for the purposes of this course, we will be focusing on the potential of the voice to signify, inform, and disrupt gender constructs.

Credits

4 units

Core Requirements Met

  • Fine Arts