An Undergraduate Syllabus for “Global Music History”
Abstract
This article presents a syllabus for an introductory undergraduate general education course entitled “Global Music History.” For teaching purposes, the syllabus frames “global music history” as the study of past societies’ sound artistry, materialities, and knowledges as they have been embedded in larger-scale connective processes. The course is organized topically and chronologically, and the focus of most class meetings is on primary sources explored through a targeted discussion question, which students explore in small peer groups. Emphasizing primary materials, representing a variety of sound materials, media, and languages in translation, gives students basic skills for doing music historical research and historically informed work of many kinds. Overall, students gain a knowledge of how musical sound has been involved in major historical processes and changes worldwide and a working understanding of key concepts in global music history and world history.
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