Politics, Poetry and Music

Politics, Poetry and Music (MU903-2A)

To introduce high school students to the practices of reading and writing at the college-level, and to expose them to cutting edge debates about globalization and politics, this course will compare music production in different countries. Through each case study, we will examine a different music culture, focusing on hip-hop and rock from both North and South America. We will make connections between recent cultural, historical, and technological developments in South America with those in the U.S. in order to understand how each of these genres combines sophisticated lyrical and musical practices with socio-political dialogue.

Through assignments that apply techniques of literary, historical and ethnological analysis, students will learn how to critically evaluate a number of literary and musical texts and thus be exposed to interdisciplinary methodologies. They will also be encouraged to discuss musical and literary styles with which they are familiar. In addition to theoretical approaches, students will have the opportunity to learn about producing music through a visit to the studio at Brown.