MUS 360: Music of Japan

Courses introduce specific repertoires and survey the music of a geographic region, with a consideration not only of local musics but also of translocal and transnational movements of cultural artifacts, ideas and processes. Students explore what is valued in these musics by the people closest to them (musicians, patrons, intended listeners), identify regional or historical styles, and seek to understand the factors contributing to their formation and reception. The ways music not only reflects but also acts as a formative part of culture are also considered, as well as how it affects and is affected by a global economy. Regions covered in any one semester are: Musics of Indonesia Musics of Africa Musics of Japan Musics of South America Musics of Java Musics of the Arab World