This course examines contemporary and historical cultural production on and from Africa across a range of registers, including literary, musical and visual arts, material culture, and science and technology. It employs key theoretical concepts from anthropology and social theory to analyze these forms and phenomena. It also uses case studies to consider how Africa articulates its place in, and relationship to, the world through creative practices. Discussion topics are largely drawn from Francophone and sub-Saharan Africa, but also from throughout the continent and the African diaspora.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the golden age of musical theatre on Broadway. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

In this subject we will study the basic harmonic, melodic, and formal practices of western music, principally the classical music of central Europe during the eighteenth century. Topics will include diatonic harmony, simple counterpoint in two parts, and tones of figuration. The coursework will combine composition, listening, analysis, and work in sight-singing and keyboard musicianship.

In this subject, we explore the harmonic, melodic, and formal practices of western music, principally the so-called "Classical" idiom of central Europe, ca. 1750-1825. Topics include a quick review of material covered in 21M.301, chromatic harmony (vii, bII, and chords of the augmented sixth), and chromatic modulation; lecture study and discussion are complemented by work in the keyboard laboratory and sight-singing laboratory. All areas of study will be integrated in a semester-long project of composing a theme and two variations in Classical style.

This class explores the political and aesthetic foundations of hip hop. Students trace the musical, corporeal, visual, spoken word, and literary manifestations of hip hop over its 30 year presence in the American cultural imagery. Students also investigate specific black cultural practices that have given rise to its various idioms. Students create material culture related to each thematic section of the course. Scheduled work in performance studio helps students understand how hip hop is created and assessed.

The following recipes, or games, are intended to be used as reference and study for the college course: Improvisation. This format has been set up to help with ease of quick learning and immediate application. Bon Appétit!

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Identify Improvisational genres. Perform numerous and varying Improv games. Plan and Execute an Improv show. Evaluate performance. Examine and analyze aspects of the human experience and quickly construct an expression of that experience.

The history of Indigenous Peoples within the US Empire is a tale of both violence and survivance, which can be difficult to engage and work through for many. This OER uses the process of a body scan, a mindfulness technique, to really get folks comfortable with their body and notice what is happening internally while using poetry as a medium to talk about the history of the Diné, or the Navajo, my community. Yet, this violence is not only unique to many Indigenous communities, but is something that many other marginalized communities have something in common as we all survive and navigate systems of exploitation and oppression in a world that denies us love and freedom. This OER ends with a reminder of how beautiful, brilliant and powerful we are and that our stories of resistance need to be shared and celebrated.

This course explores audio synthesis, musical structure, human computer interaction (HCI), and visual presentation for the creation of interactive musical experiences. Topics include audio synthesis; mixing and looping; MIDI sequencing; generative composition; motion sensors; music games; and graphics for UI, visualization, and aesthetics. Weekly programming assignments in python are included. Student teams build an original, dynamic, and engaging interactive music system for their final project.

This course is an interdisciplinary exploration of three broad topics concerning music in relation to time.

Music as Architecture: the creation of musical shapes in time;
Music as Memory: how musical understanding depends upon memory and reminiscence, with attention to analysis of musical structures; and
Time as the Substance of Music: how different disciplines such as philosophy and neuroscience view the temporal dimension of musical processes and/or performances.

Classroom discussion of these topics is complemented by three weekend concerts with pre-concert forums, jointly presented by the Boston Chamber Music Society (BCMS) and MIT Music & Theater Arts.

This course examines the production, transmission, preservation and qualities of folk music in the British Isles and North America from the 18th century to the folk revival of the 1960s and the present. There is a special emphasis on balladry, fiddle styles, and African-American influences. The class sings ballads and folk songs from the Child and Lomax collections as well as other sources as we examine them from literary, historical, and musical points of view. Readings supply critical and background materials from a number of sources. Visitors and films bring additional perspectives.

This course is a study of the history of theater art and practice from its origins to the modern period, including its roles in non-western cultures. Special attention is given to the relationship between the literary and performative dimensions of drama, and the relationship between drama and its cultural context.

Drama combines the literary arts of storytelling and poetry with the world of live performance. As a form of ritual as well as entertainment, drama has served to unite communities and challenge social norms, to vitalize and disturb its audiences. In order to understand this rich art form more fully, we will study and discuss a sampling of plays that exemplify different kinds of dramatic structure; class members will also participate in, attend, and review dramatic performances.

Syllabus with listening links for Introduction to Jazz History course that uses a library ebook as primary textbook: Ted Gioia, The History of Jazz, 2nd ed. (New York: Oxford, 2011). Covers the 90-year history of jazz, a truly American art form. Examines and analyzes eras, styles, and significant artists.

Upon successful completion students should be able to:

Understand that the study of jazz involves an analysis of what motivates humans to create and how their creations reflect their values and world views
Experience jazz music “dynamically,” that is, to appreciate simultaneously the uniqueness of a work, its origins and precedent, its potential as an inspiration and influence on later music and its relationship to a particular cultural moment
Critically examine the impact of jazz on social interaction so as to encourage sensitivity and empathy toward people with different values or beliefs.

Course syllabus for MUS 180: Introduction to Library Research MethodsThe purpose of this course is to orient you to music research, for academic and professional purposes. You will also receive an introduction to writing about music including citing using the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, and writing program notes. Course content will focus on using library resources including physical and digital collections. Contact the course instructor (Carolyn Doi, Music Librarian, carolyn.doi@usask.ca with any questions or concerns throughout the course. 

Through a progressive series of composition projects, students investigate the sonic organization of musical works and performances, focusing on fundamental questions of unity and variety. Aesthetic issues are considered in the pragmatic context of the instructions that composers provide to achieve a desired musical result, whether these instructions are notated in prose, as graphic images, or in symbolic notation. No formal training is required. Weekly listening, reading, and composition assignments draw on a broad range of musical styles and intellectual traditions, from various cultures and historical periods.

Offered in the spring and fall terms, Introduction to Stagecraft is a hands-on course that gets students working with the tools and techniques of theatrical production in a practical way. It is not a design course but one devoted to artisanship. Among the many remarkable final projects that have been proposed and presented at the end of the course have been a Renaissance hourglass blown in the MIT glass shop and set into a frame turned on our set shop lathe; a four harness loom built by a student who then wove cloth on it; a number of chain mail tunics and coifs; a wide variety of costume and furniture pieces and electrified period lighting fixtures.

An Introduction to Technical Theatre draws on the author’s experience in both the theatre and the classroom over the last 30 years. Intended as a resource for both secondary and post-secondary theatre courses, this text provides a comprehensive overview of technical theatre, including terminology and general practices. Introduction to Technical Theatre’s accessible format is ideal for students at all levels, including those studying technical theatre as an elective part of their education.

This course gives a broad overview of Western music from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, with emphasis on late baroque, classical, romantic, and modernist styles (1700-1910). It is also meant to enhance students' musical experience by developing listening skills and an understanding of diverse forms and genres. Major composers and their works will be placed in social and cultural contexts. Weekly lectures feature demonstrations by professional performers, and introduce topics to be discussed in sections. The focus of the course is on the weekly listening and reading assignments.

This course is an introduction to diverse musical traditions of the world. Music from a wide range of geographical areas is studied in terms of structure, performance practice, social use, aesthetics, and cross-cultural contact. Course work includes hands-on music making, live demonstrations by guest artists, and ethnographic research projects.

This course explores the ways that music is both shaped by and gives shape to the cultural settings in which it is performed, through studying selected musical traditions from around the world. Specific case studies will be examined closely through listening, analysis, and hands-on instruction. The syllabus centers around weekly listening assignments and readings from a textbook with CDs, supplemented by hands-on workshops, lecture/demonstrations and concerts by master musicians from around the world.