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GMUS 206

  Introduction to Global Music

In this course we ask questions about the meaning of music from a global perspective. We approach music as a gateway to understanding other people's cultures and in the process discovering our own. We start by exploring some philosophical questions (e.g. What is music? Where does it come from? Are all sounds musical?) and then move on to explore how some cultures around the world fit the models we lay down at the beginning of the course.

Though the regions and case studies covered in this class vary from one semester to another, the guiding goal of learning about people through their music remains unchanged. At the same time, students develop a vocabulary and listening skills which enable them to think critically and talk objectively about music in general.

This class is for students who are interested in the more anthropological, as opposed to historical, study of music. Because of its focus on diversity and world's cultures, the class does not include units on mainstream popular music, western art music, or western music theory.