By the end of the course, students will:

1. gain agency over their music tastes and habits of consumption, thinking critically about the musical and social context in which artists work.

2. develop competency in listening actively to music, achieve skill with analytical vocabulary and methods relevant to their favorite artists and genres, and gain an understanding of histories of this music in both the institutional and commercial spheres.

3. be able to confidently advocate for their favorite artists, and securely articulate and justify their tastes. Conversely, students will practice listening generously to others’ music and will respect and value others’ musical taste.

Students will consider their own favorite artists, and, while gaining a greater appreciation for this artist’s intellectual-musical heritage, will explore the various social factors that co-produced this artist’s impact alongside the activities of the artist themselves. The aim is to complicate assertions that x artist is “the greatest,” or some similar claim, and to give us perspective on such pronouncements.

Students will engage with a constellation of readings in social philosophy, critical theory, anthropology, philosophy of education, aesthetics, art criticism, and musicology.

No prior musical knowledge is required. Students are required to enjoy some form of music and be interested in interrogating both that music and its context(s).