MUTH 115 - Philosophical and Political Issues in Texted Music: Opera and Hip-Hop

FC CNDP CD

4 credits
Half of this course will focus on opera and half will focus on rap. We will aim to gain a more nuanced appreciation for the many rich philosophical and political issues that emerge from particular works of art belonging to these two genres. Our primary texts will be musical compositions by Tupac, Public Enemy, Mos Def, Donald Glover, Lauryn Hill, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Verdi, Berg, John Adams, and others. In crafting close critical readings of culturally significant works of texted music, we will draw on the the writings of such thinkers as Lissa Skitolsky, Derrick Darby, Tommie Shelby, Cornel West, Bryan Magee, Richard Schusterman, Raymond Williams, Stewart Hall, and Julius Bailey.