Summer Courses 2007

MUSI 131: Basic Musical Skills

Troy Rogers
3.0 credits
July 12 - Aug 9, MTWRF, 10:30-12:45, OCH B012
No previous knowledge of music required.

Serves as a prerequisite for MUSI 331. Not open to students already qualified to elect 331. Study of the rudiments of music and training in the ability to read music.

MUSI 207B: Music and Popular Culture

Elizabeth Lindau
3.0 credits
June 12 - July 10, MTWRF, 1:00-3:15, OCH 107
No prior musical experience necesesary.

Music is all around us. Not only can your music library be carried in your pocket, available at all times, but it's used to advertise products, to encourage certain responses to plot and character development on TV and in movies, and to set a specific tone in many public spaces. Through listening, viewing, ethnographic projects, and writing, we will investigate the ways in which music has shaped modern American popular culture.

MUSI 208B: History of Rock and Roll

3.0 credits
No prior musical experience necesesary.
Section 1
Michael Bishop
May 14 - June 8, MTWRF, 10:30-12:45, OCH 113
Section 2
Nicholas Rubin
June 12 - July 10, MTWRF, 10:30-12:45, OCH 107

Through intensive reading and listening, this course will provide students with an overview of the roots and evolution of rock and roll, keeping historical, social, and economic contexts in clear view. Daily discussion will move beyond "the music itself" to issues of race, class, and gender, inflected by our growing knowledge of rock and roll's business and legal history. Students' final grades will be based on daily quizzes, several short writing assignments, a class presentation, and a final exam.

MUSI 208C: The American Musical on Stage and Film

Allison Robbins
3.0 credits
July 12 - August 9, MTWRF, 1:00-3:15, OCH 107
No prior musical experience necesesary.

This course will examine the role of the musical in American culture. We'll look closely at vaudeville and musical comedy at the turn of the twentieth century, Hollywood musicals from the 1930s, the Rodgers and Hammerstein productions of the 1940s and 1950s, and contemporary music video that employs the musical aesthetic. Students will attend two live productions at local summer theaters and are expected to participate in several in-class screenings.

MUSI 208D: Music in Asian America

Wendy Hsu
3.0 credits
July 12 - August 9, MTWRF, 10:30-12:45, OCH 107
No prior musical experience necesesary.

This interdisciplinary course explores the musical lives of Asian Pacific Americans (APA's) as well as the music by APA musicians in 20th and 21st century U.S. We will read ethnographic and historical studies of musical practices of APA's in jazz, hip hop, Taiko drumming, karaoke and Christian churches. We will also read criticism of Asian American musical representations such as Yoko Ono, Cibo Matto, William Hung, and Yo Yo Ma while analytically engaging with their music and image.

MUSI 239/339: Introduction to Music and Computers

Edward J. Coffey
3.0 credits
May 14-June 8, MTWRF, 1:00-3:15, OCH B011

This course will serve as an introduction to the theory and practive of working with music technology in a studio setting. Students will gain knowledge of key figures and works and will gain hands-on experience with recording equipment and digital audio software by completing computer-based composition projects.