MUSHL 10700
Professor Marcela Joya
Spring 2025, Tuesdays and Thursdays 7.00 PM to 8.15 PM |North Bldg 404, Hunter College
Office Hours: Thursdays 6.00 PM (by email appointment) or Mondays 2.00 PM (by Zoom)
[email protected] (allow 48hrs for response)
Course Description
This course surveys a multitude of musical cultures worldwide, exploring various genres through case studies that critically analyze the impact of globalization, diaspora, and migration. From the diasporic echoes of African rhythms in the era of slavery to the global effects on genres like jazz and hip-hop, students will trace the intricate interplay between migration patterns and the evolution of distinct musical forms worldwide. This thematic strand deepens students’ comprehension of the interconnectedness between music and broader cultural dynamics, providing a unique lens to explore a rich tapestry of global sound and music exchange.
Divided into three parts, this course begins with an examination of historical musical exchanges during colonialism, leading to the emergence of “new world” music. The second segment delves into the everyday musical landscape worldwide, exploring diaspora musics and sounds, with a particular focus on the pivotal roles of jazz, hip-hop, and popular music within and beyond the imperial context. The third part features case studies spanning music within and across national borders, addressing political issues, resistance, and civic movements (such as the Civil Rights movement), concluding with an exploration of how music serves as a tool for expressing cultural hegemony and fostering intercultural connections.
Part One: Historical Musical Exchanges and the “New World”
We begin with a historical exploration of musical exchanges during the era of colonialism, unraveling the intricate threads from Africa that led to the birth of “new world” music. Students will delve into the cultural resonances and transformations that occurred as musical expressions crossed colonial boundaries.
Part Two: Diaspora Musics and the Global Soundscape
The course then takes a nuanced approach to inGluential musical genres, including jazz, gospel, blues, bluegrass, hip-hop, rock, and rap. Beyond mere examination, the course delves
deeply into the intricate roles played by these musical genres, both locally and in their broader global impact. Students are tasked with analyzing the multifaceted ways these genres
serve as powerful conduits for cultural expression and platforms for resistance, shedding light on the complex interplay between music, globalization, and migration.
Part Three: Music Across National Borders and Cultural Hegemony
The Ginal segment focuses on scrutinizing instances where music becomes a compelling
instrument of resistance. Students delve into how diverse communities strategically utilize music to assert their identity and challenge prevailing socio-political structures. This section examines musics a potent
medium for expressing cultural hegemony and, simultaneously, fostering meaningful intercultural connections on a global scale, the role of minorities, and marginalization.
Learning Objectives
As we navigate through diverse genres, students will develop the skills to identify,
describe, and discuss music, considering both style and cultural context. This course emphasizes a global survey of music, highlighting interactive frameworks that elucidate local musical practices and their intersections shaped by political, social, colonial, migratory, and global forces. Upon the completion of this course, the students are expected to:
- Critically understand how musical practices shape and are shaped by political and social dynamics by framing them critically in the context of issues such as globalization, colonialism, and migration;
- Identify the role of musical practices in shaping identity formation and community bonding;
- Examine the transmission, preservation, and transformation of music as an expression of ever-changing human conditions, their conGlicts, movements, and struggles;
- Use listening skills to identify different musical genres, drawing connections between sound structure, performance, and socio/cultural organizations;
- Embrace diversity in social and cultural realms through music.
Requirements and Grading:
- Attendance and Participation 20%
Please attend class! You may miss up to three classes (no questions asked) without it affecting your grades. More than three absences will require a valid justification that must be communicated to me via email prior to the class. (Attendance accounts for 10% of your grade.) Participation can include a mix of class discussion (comments and questions) as well as a short paragraph or two reflecting on the weekly readings/media (not summarizing) which should be submitted on our forum by Tuesday at 12 PM Students must complete at least eight prompts by the end of the semester (Participation counts for 10%). You are not obligated to talk! If you feel better writing or expressing yourself in a different manner, that’s also OK.
*Laptops, tablets, and phones are discouraged in this class. We will spend a significant amount of time focused on listening—not only to music but also to one another. It is up to you to take this opportunity during the week to disconnect from your usual devices and improve your listening and concentration skills.
*Do not summarize your readings. I have already read the texts I will assign you, so you don’t need to tell me what they’re about. What we want is to reflect, debate, and trigger our curiosity. - Three Listening Quizzes 15% (each 5%)
- Please consult the calendar for the listening quiz schedule. Each quiz will be about 20 minutes long and taken at the end of the class. I will post three music video examples on Brightspace the week before each quiz. You must provide insights about the musical performance’s cultural, political, or religious significance. You are not required to memorize the names of the musicians, but the musical style, genre, and ritual are necessary information you should know.
- A paper as an observation review on a live concert of your choice (although you must discuss this choice
with me). This assignment aims to consider the issues and events you find intriguing concerning the topics discussed in class. Considering this 2-3 page assignment (double spaced; Times New Roman; 12 font;) as a magazine journalist would be helpful. You can get inspiration from this essay by music writer Amanda Petrusich (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/05/27/hit-me-hard-and-soft-billie-eilish-music- review). You are not expected to write in that fashion but are encouraged to use it as a source of ideas. - You might create a photo-essay (see example: https://Glemmingbojensen.com/2023/09/10/zar-paulo- northside-festival-2023-photo-essay/). You are encouraged to report the story through the lenses of your phone, camera, iPad, or any other available device. An explanatory written narrative to accompany the photography is also required.
- You might create a podcast or vodcast to report on the selected concert. *You should discuss this choice with me in advance.
*We will have a workshop on How to Create a Music Review. I will provide a list of possible concerts and events on Brightspace for you to choose from. Talk to me if you are particularly interested in attending a musical event that you suspect is not likely to Git the class topics.
- Music Playlist + Brief Explanation 10%
You will develop this assignment during the semester. You should focus on a specific theme that builds on
the concepts we’ve discussed in class. I will provide a list of possible topics for consideration; your task is to choose Give songs covered in class, along with Give additional songs from any genre that you believe relate to these selections and the concept you have chosen to elaborate on in your playlist. By the end of the semester, you must submit a 10-song playlist and a brief explanation consisting of 3 to 4 paragraphs justifying your choices. This assignment aims to help students practically organize their new knowledge based on the central themes of the class. - Ethnographic Interview 10% OR class presentation.
We will explore ethnographic interviews (related to music) in class. You are expected to apply this knowledge by interviewing someone you know (or even someone you don’t) who has a strong passion for music and engages with it in some way, such as being a record collector, amateur musician, broadcaster, etc. Consider bringing a tape recorder for the interview (your phone might work well). This will enable you to refer back to the interview, but be sure to obtain permission from the person you are interviewing before recording. You will need to transcribe the interview. Interviewees should be encouraged to speak in their own language or dialect. If you cannot conduct the interview in your interlocutor’s native language, ensure you work with someone who is comfortable communicating in English.
*If you choose to present on an assigned topic in class, that would count your 10%, and you won’t have to do the interview. - Final Exam 25%
Students may choose from the following options:
- Written examination in the classroom. This exam will cover at least 90% of the topics studied in class. It will be 50% multiple choice and the other 50% open questions requiring elaboration in the written answer. This is the suggested option if you attended most classes and believe you have absorbed most of the material in a reflective and personal fashion. If you feel anxious about in-person exams, this may not be your best choice.
- Compose a critical review of one of the music documentaries we viewed during the semester. A 3-4 page analytical essay is required, and students should incorporate at least three of the texts or references we studied as part of their analysis sources
- Report on a band/artist Case Study: The final product is expected to be an analytical, academic, or/creative essay of 3-4 pages. I would give students a list of options for analysis in this assignment.
- Write a 3-4 page personal essay reflecting analytically on the material learned in class, the central theme of which must be discussed in advance with me via email (and at least Give sources used in class must be incorporated).
Class Information and weekly discussions:
- Commons Site: Our class has a Commons site on which you will find all the latest details for assignments, listening examples, and any revisions to the syllabus. Please make sure that you have access to the site as soon as possible through the Hunter website. Brightspace will be your source for the most up-to-date assignments, including any changes to the syllabus.
• Please ensure your current e-mail address is registered on Brightspace, as I will use it to contact class members with any important announcements.
• Please arrive to class promptly.
• Listening Examples: Listening examples are as important as the assigned readings. We will devote much of our class meetings to analyzing the musical examples aural and visually. Please listen seriously to each example before class, as we will review them reasonably quickly. Examinations and quizzes will consist of this or similar listening material.
• Late assignments will be graded lower, and those over a week late will not be accepted.
• Late arrivals and early departures distract the class. Please inform me beforehand if you must arrive late or leave early on a given day. Please leave the class discreetly if you have a personal or medical emergency. Please do not come to class if you are 9ifteen minutes late. It will count as an absence.
Dates for assignments and extensions (read carefully):
If you know you will not be able to make a date for a particular assignment, please discuss it with me beforehand and not on or after the due date. Requests for extensions after a due date has passed will only be granted in exceptional and unavoidable circumstances. They must include (a) one typed, double-spaced page explaining the reason for missing the deadline and (b) relevant documentation, such as an ofGicial doctor’s note. The written request for an extension must be in my hands within one week after the scheduled due date. Your professor is under no obligation to accept late assignments; assignments that are accepted may suffer a significant grade penalty.
Grades are assigned per the Hunter grading system:
Grade A+ A A-
B+ B B-
DeGinition 97.5 – 100%
92.5 – 97.4% 90.0 – 92.4%
87.5 – 89.9% 82.5 – 87.4% 80.0 – 82.4%
Quality Points (GPA Index) 4.0 4.0
3.7 3.3 3.0
2.7
C+ 77.5 – 79.9% 2.3 C 70.0 – 77.4% 2.0 D 60.0 – 69.9% 1.0 F 0– 59.9% 0
WU UnofGicial withdrawal (assigned by instructor; counts zero quality points) P Credit Earned (equivalent to A, B, C, D) NC No credit granted (equivalent to F) INC Term’s work is incomplete. This may include absence from the Ginal examination. See explanation after chart. https://hunter.cuny.edu/students/registration/records-and-transcripts/grading-structure/
Academic Integrity Statement: “Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair advantage, and falsiGication of records and ofGicial documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures.” For information of Hunter College academic policies please visit: https://hunter-graduate.catalog.cuny.edu/policies/academic-policies-regulations/academic- policies-regulations
ADA Statement: “In compliance with the ADA and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational access and accommodations for all its registered students. Hunter College’s students with disabilities and medical conditions are encouraged to register with the OfGice of AccessABILITY for assistance and accommodation.
For information and appointment contact the OfGice of AccessABILITY located in Room E1214 or call (212) 772-4857 /or VRS (646) 755-3129.”
Hunter College Policy on Sexual Misconduct: In compliance with the CUNY Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Hunter College reafGirms the prohibition of any sexual misconduct, which includes sexual violence, sexual harassment, and gender-based harassment retaliation against students, employees, or visitors, as well as certain intimate relationships. Students who have experienced any form of sexual violence on or off campus (including CUNY-sponsored trips and events) are entitled to the rights outlined in the Bill of Rights for Hunter College.
a. Sexual Violence: Students are strongly encouraged to report the immediately incident by calling 911, contacting NYPD Special Victims Division Hotline (646- 610-7272) or their local police precinct, or contacting the College’s Public Safety OfGice (212-772-4444).
b. All Other Forms of Sexual Misconduct: Students are also encouraged to contact the College’s Title IX Campus Coordinator, Dean John Rose ([email protected] or 212-650-3262) or Colleen Barry ([email protected] or 212-772-4534) and seek complimentary services through the Counseling and Wellness Services OfGice, Hunter East 1123. CUNY Policy on Sexual Misconduct Link: http://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/ofGices/la/Policy-on-Sexual-Misconduct-12-1-14- with-links.pdf ”
Course Plan
———————Module I: Music, Culture and Globalization
Topic 1: Critical Listening and “Music as Culture”
Read: Levitin, “What Does It Mean to be Musical?” in Neuron 73. Cell Press. 633-637.
Read: Thomson, “Taste in Music,” in Virgil Thomson: Music Chronicles. (Library of America, 2014) 24-28.
Read: Davis,
Optional: Watch: Kamat – TEDx Talk (2015) – “What Gives Music Its Identity?” https://www.ted.com/talks/anuja_kamat_what_gives_music_its_identity?subtitle=en Core concepts: Cultural equity, music preferences, identity.
Topic 2: Elements of Music
Read: Copland, “How We Listen,” in What to Listen For in Music. (First New American Library Printing, 2009). 46-53.
Read: McGlothlin and Bill, Chapter 1, Musical Instruments and Ensembles and 2: Elements of Music, in The Art of Music: Music Appreciation with an Equity Lens.
Optional: Explore: Musical Instruments Classification (Sachs-Hornbostel) – Part I, Jolin Jian, July 07, 2020.
Suggested poem: “The Composer,” by W.H. Auden.
Core concepts: Elements of music.
Topic 3: Music as Globalization: From the “Old” to the “New World”
Read: Martin, “The Musical Heritage of Slavery: From Creolization to ʺWorld Musicʺ, in Music and Globalization: Critical Encounters (Indiana University Press, 2012), 17-23.
Listen: Tracing the Yoruba Influence in Cuban Popular Music in https:/thegroundtruthproject.org/tracing- yoruba-influence-cuban-music/
Suggested poem: “Te Visitation,” by Sun Ra
Core concepts: globalization, cultural hybridization, cultural corruption, cultural hybridization, creolization.
Topic 4: Globalization and Politics of Place: The Caribbean in Religion, Rumba, Candomblé.
4.1 Rumba
Read: Sublette, “Chapter 17: Rumba,” in Cuba and Its Music, Chicago Review Press (February, 2007).
Watch: https://www.behance.net/gallery/10741699/La-Rumba-Cubana-series (a Photo Essay on Rumba by Juan Caballero).
4.2 Candomblé
Read: Johnson, “What is Candomblé ?,” in Secrets, Gossips and Gods. Oxford Univesity Press, 2002. 37-52.
Or
Read: Matory, “Introduction,” in Black Atlantic Religion. 2009, p 1-37.
Listen: Cantarelli and Whelden, Podcast: “Candomblé,” in: Massa: Brazilian Music and Culture.
Listen: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Gx2h9FZznykOOj53RkgyF?si=2f94d586497f4351 Optional: Read: Moore, “Political Song”, in Music in the Hispanic Caribbean (Oxford
University Press, 2010), 147-176.
Core concepts: political song, rumba, religion, gender, policies.
———————Module II: Music in Multicultural America
Topic 5: Music and Indigeneity
Read: Perea, “Thinking about intertribal Native American music,” in Intertribal Native American Music in the United States: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture (Oxford University Press, 2014), 1-15, 74-90.
Watch: Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (dir. Catherine Bainbridge and Alfonso Maiorana, 2017).
Optional: Read/Watch/Listen to: From the Andes to the Arctic: Explore American Indian Heritage through Music, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, in https://folkways.si.edu/andes-arctic-explore-american-indian- heritage/world/music/article/Smithsonian.
Suggested Poem: “The Ceremony,” by Joy Harjo.
Core concepts: indigeneity, intertribal music.
Topic 6: Micro-musics in the United States
Read: Lornell and Rasmussen, “Introduction,” The Music of Multicultural America (University Press of Mississippi, 2016), selection: 3-9, 16-32
Read and report/present on one chapter of each student’s choice.
Core concepts: micro-music, diaspora, multiculturalism.
Topic 7: Racialized Sounds
7.1 Salsa and Puerto Rican Belonging
Read: Rondón, “Salsa’s the Thing,” in The Book of Salsa, A Chronicle of Urban Music from the Caribbean to New York City. University of North Carolina Press. 17-26.
Watch: From Mambo to Hip-Hop *First part. Chalfant and Martıń ez.
OR
Watch: “Our Latin Thing” (Spanish: Nuestra Cosa Latina). Dir. Leon Gast, 1972.
Optional: Negró n, “Fania Records and its Nuyorican Imaginary: Representing Salsa as Commodity and Cultural Sign in Our Latin Thing,” in Journal of Popular Music Studies, Volume 27, Issue 3, Pages 274–303.
7.2 Merengue and Bachata: Dominican Racial Identity in New York
Read: Pacini, “Urban Bachata and Dominican Racial Identity in New York,” in Cahiers d’Études Africaines , 2014, Vol. 54, Cahier 216, Musiques dans l’«Atlantique noir (2014), pp. 1027-1054.
OR
Read: Austerlitz, “Merengue: Dominican Music and Identity,” in in Gettysburg College Faculty Books.
Listen: “The Merengue War” in La Brega, a podcast, in https://open.spotify.com/episode/ 70xrJ5nrfOZ6J7Hc64csd9.
Optional: Hutchinson.”Chapter 6: Temporary Transvestites: Cross-Dressing Merengue, Bachata and Reggaeton,” in Tigers of a Different Stripe: Performing Gender in Dominican Music.
7.3 Jazz and The Empire’s Cultural Diplomacy
Watch: “The Jazz Ambassadors” (PBS 2018).
Read: Dyer, “Afterword: Tradition, Influence, and Innovation,” in But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz. (Picador, 2009)183-215.
Optional: Read: Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues,” in Partisan Review, 1957.
Optional: Read Balliet’s “Out Here Again: a Profile of Mary Lou Williams” in The New Yorker, April 24, 1964.
Recommended reading and listening: Enstice and Stockhouse, Jazzwomen: Conversations with Twenty-One Musicians. (Indiana University Press, 2004).
Watch: Choose one documentary to watch from a selected list TBD.
Suggested Poems: “T-Monious,” by Thulani Davis; “The Weary Blues,” by Langston Hughes.
7.4 Latin Jazz: Intercultural Music?
Read: Washburne, “Latin Jazz, Afro-Latin Jazz, Afro-Cuban Jazz, Cubop, Caribbean Jazz, Jazz Latin, or Just . . . Jazz: The Politics of Locating an Intercultural Music,” in Jazz/Not Jazz: The Music and Its Boundaries.
Watch: “Calle 54,” a documentary by Fernando Trueba, 2001,
OR “Latin Jazz,” by Isabelle Laymarie.
7.5 Reggae, race, freedom
Read: Haynes, “Embodied Minstrelsy, Racialization and Redemption in Reggae.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 22 (5-6): 996-1012.
Read: Hua. “What “Babylon” Captured about Racism and Reggae,” in The New Yorker, March 7, 2019.
Watch: Babylon (1980), By Franco Rosso *available in Kanopy through your Hunter Student account.
OR
Read: Sinclair, “Revisiting my Rastafari Childhood,” in The New Yorker, July 31, 2023.
Optional: “Black History in Roots Reggae Music,” in https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/black-history-in-roots- reggae-music
Core concepts: racialized sound, the sonic-color line, cultural diplomacy, the Cold War, Jim Crow Law, Civil Rights Movement.
Topic 8: Hip-Hop (Revolution, cultural critique, anti-imperialism)
8.1 Global Politics, copyrights, and Hip Hop:
Read: Sharma, “Rap, Race, Revolution: Post-9/11 Brown and a Hip-Hop Critique of Empire”, in Audible Empire: Music, Global Politics, Critique (Duke University Press, 2016), 292-313.
8.2 Hip Hop Feminism:
Read: Sanneh, “Hip Hop: Raging Sexism,” in Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres (Penguin Press, 2021)
Watch: My Mic Sounds Nice: A Truth About Women And Hip-Hop (2016). Suggested Poetry: “Best Life,” by Waiian, in Good Problems.
Core concepts: diasporic connections, hip-hop, music scenes.
———————Module III: Music between and against borders
Topic 9: Music at the U.S.-Mexico Borders
Listen: Borderland Music: Songs from the U.S.-Mexico Frontera (NPR, 2014).
Read: Madrid, “Introduction,” Transnational Encounters: Music and Performance at the U.S.-Mexico Border (Oxford University Press, 2011).
Watch: Fandango at The Wall (2020). Dir by Vanda Bar-Kar, OR
Chulas Fronteras (2018). Dir Chris Strachwitz.
Suggested Poem: “A New National Anthem,” by Ada Limó n.
Core concepts: Mariachi, border theory, transnational music encounter, son jarocho, narco-corridos.
Topic 10: The India-Pakistan Border: Division and Reconciliation Through Music.
Read: Mumtaz, “The India-Pakistan border divides the Balti tribe. Music brings them home”. Dec 19, 2019
Read: Matoo, “The Pop song that is uniting India and Pakistan,” in The New Yorker, May 9, 2002.
Watch: “Do you think Music transcends borders?” Ted talk by Sharmishtha Chatterjee.
Topic 11: Music and Transnational Protest/Resistance
Listen: Afropop episode “South African Artists Celebrate the Life and Legacy of Nelson Mandela.”
Read: Daley, “The Day Apartheid Died: Photos of South Africa’s First Free Vote,” The New York Times, May 8th, 2019.
Read: Bhutto, “Songs of Exile,” in This Woman’s Work. Hachette Books, 2022.
Watch: Searching for Sugarman (Malik Bendjalloul, 2012). [online]
Suggested Poem: “Caged Bird,” by Maya Angelou.
Core concepts: Apartheid, protest song, exile.
———————Module IV: Music and the limits of cultural hegemony and the prospects of cultural connection
Topic 12: The Limits of Music Hegemony
Read: Cusick, Suzanne G. “Music as torture / Music as a weapon,” ” Journal of the Society for American Music, 12(3), 2018, 233-267.
Read: Drott, “Music as a Technology of Surveillance,” in Journal of the Society for American Music, 12(3), 2018, 233-267.
Watch: Songs of War: Music as Weapon (Java Films, 2015). [Vimeo plus]
Recommended/Optional: Ross, “The art of fear: Music in Stalin’s Russia,” in The Rest is Noise (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009)
Suggested Poem: “Masters of War,” by Bob Dylan.
Core concepts: surveillance technology, music torture.
Topic 13: The prospects of intercultural connection
Read: Langenkamp, “Contested Imaginaries of Collective Harmony: The Poetics and Politics of ‘Silk Road’ Nostalgia in China and the West,” in China and the West: Music, Representation and Reception, (University of Michigan Press, 2017), 243-264.
Watch: The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble (dir. Morgan Neville), 2015
Core concepts: the Silk-Road, world music, global citizens, revolution.
Closing:
Watch: The Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised). Questlove, 2021.
Read: Ginzburg, “Reasons for Pride”.
