West African Music

Mus 233:  The Music of  West Africa


This course will explore the diversity of musical expression and related cultural traditions found in selected regions of West Africa.  Examination, analysis, and performance of ritual and ceremonial-based musical genres and investigations of related cultural practices will form the core of study that will also incorporate comparative readings in African history, religions, geography, the impact of colonialism, and the global spread of West African music.

  Prerequisites:  Music 103 or permission of instructor.