Course Objectives for the World of Music (MU-H 107)
This class is a survey class of music from around the world. The geographical areas that may be
covered during the class include South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and
Americas. The objectives of the class are to meet the enormous variety of musical practices in
the world; to enable students to appreciate and enjoy music of vastly different cultures; and to
encourage them to explore on their own music and music of other communities. The course also
aims to give students the opportunity to share their knowledge of certain kinds of world music
with other members of the class. The class meetings will primarily comprise cultural context,
historical background, and recent conditions of specific folk and classical genres and forms
around the world. There is no prior knowledge of music is required. The students are expected to
be open to in-class exercises-whether they consist of clapping rhythms, reading poetry, singing,
or writing reflective response essays to be completed during class
There will be regular tests during the semester in order to assess students’ comprehension and
retention of the materials covered during the class. Attendance is a required and necessary
component of the course, and will constitute a substantial portion of the grade. Finally, there will
be a performance report (or concert report) requirement that students are supposed to write about
a live music performance. The performance report is aimed at: 1) exposing the students to a
preferably world music concert experience; 2) developing the students’ ability to combine their
critical insight with their acquired listening and analytical skills so as to produce an intelligent
paper.
Required Text: World Music: A Global Journey, by Terry E. Miller & Andrew Shahriari,
Routledge 2008 (2nd edition) with 2-CD set.