Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: MUSIC AND DIASPORA

Department: Jewish Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Language of Instruction: Taught in English

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Though it is common for musical genres to be affiliated with nation-states, border-crossing diasporic music is in fact booming all around us. Bhangra, rai, jazz, klezmer, and many more point to longer histories and larger systems of transnational movement and social consciousness. In this course, we follow the music to explore the central place of diaspora in our world as well as the social critiques it offers. We ask two simultaneous questions: How does diaspora shape music? And what can music teach us about diaspora? Throughout the semester, we will listen to and read about Afro-diasporic music, music from the Jewish diaspora, the South Asian diaspora, “queer diaspora,” and beyond. Threaded together with broader materials from ethnomusicology, anthropology, cultural studies, and more, we explore key histories of border crossing that lead to modern diasporic formations, including the transatlantic African slave trade and colonialism. Critically analyzing musical questions such as tradition and hybridity leads us to examine diasporic approaches to themes of movement, borders, home, and identity, that challenge social systems of power. This course is designed to benefit and interest students from a wide range of disciplines and interests in the subject matter. Please feel free to reach out directly to instructor with any questions you may have about the course’s fit.