CMUS 201 - The Politics of Passion: Musical Life in Twentieth-Century South America

FC CNDP, DDHU

4 credits
What is Latin American music? Why is it significant? To and for whom? This course explores the ways in which musicians in South America have engaged with the Latin cultural mystique, and how this engagement has been perceived by audiences on the continent and beyond. Three sets of case studies are used to unpack this topic. A first unit examines how composers like Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, and Becerra-Schmidt have employed tactics of self-exoticization to establish national art music traditions. A second unit considers the significance of the Latin peasant and Latin lover personas adopted by folk and popular musicians like Gardel, Yupanqui, Jabim, and Shakira. A third unit engages in the current debate over El Sistema, identifying the divergent motives of South Americans, North Americans, and Europeans for understanding this educational model in Latin terms.
Prerequisites & Notes: CMUS 100 or consent of the instructor.