Course Info: HACU-0265

Every culture bears unique sensibilities to sounds. People cultivate distinctive ways of hearing, understanding, and relating to them. These sensibilities are also rejected in the processes of sound- and music-making. Different instruments are devised to encapsulate distinctive cultural values not only acoustically but also visually in their material forms. This course aims to explore diverse music cultures of the world through the lens of organology (the study of musical instruments). We examine a wide range of sound-making devices in their current sociocultural and historical contexts. Our investigation encompasses subjects such as social functions and significations of the instruments, e.g., ritual objects, status symbols, and exotic commodities, myths and symbolism attributed to the instruments, technology and craftsmanship involved in the fabrication, and ecological and ethical concerns for the use of certain materials, e.g., exotic wood, tortoise shells, and ivory. 

To receive an evaluation for this course, students needed to attend and actively participate in class and submit a Takeaway (critical short reflection) at the end of each unit. For their midterm, students designed an imaginary musical instrument that would embody, materialize, or realize their original concepts of "music" and "musical instrument" problematizing the conventional ideas and representations of them. For their final project, students conducted research on a topic relevant to the class contents and their individual interests, and presented the outcome in a form suitable for their project. Students shared their midterm and final projects in class presentations as well. This semester, the final presentation was arranged individually with the instructor via Zoom.