ETHN 208 - Music and Media since the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Semester Offered: Second Semester
Credits (Range): 3
Attribute: CNDP
An exploration of the impact of media on musical practices, production, and soundscapes around the world. We will discuss the ways media ranging from phonograph recordings to cassettes, VCDs, ring tones and the latest digital technologies aid in the dessemination of musical styles, and alter (or are manipulated to futher enhance) pre-existent aesthetic frames (for example, distortion aiding the Indonesian aesthetic of ramai). Organized around a series of musical case studies and social theories, the course will take into account topics including early writings concerned with questions of authenticity; theories of globalization (and counter theories); appropriation and the politics of sampling in World Beat (e.g. appropriation of South African mbube in Paul Simon’s Graceland or Peruvian charango in Christine Milan’s music); and media in sacred contexts (e.g. amplification redefining the boundaries of religious communities in India and Singapore or just how a canned sardine spirit takes the mic in the Malaysian rain forest).
Enrollment Limit: 20
Instructor: J. Fraser
Consent of the Instructor Required? Yes