The Study of

Ethnomusicology

Instructors: Professor Cynthia Schmidt & Professor Clarke Speed

This course is a basic introduction to music of Africa and the African Diaspora (the Caribbean and the United States).  As we study history and social and cultural issues, we aim to provide a background for understanding artful expression and the experiences that stand behind it making it a rich and dynamic part of life. 

The course objectives are to learn basic cultural, social, and historical material, learn to synthesize African music with concepts of culture and society, and learn to recognize the Black aesthetic continuum in music of the African Diaspora and to appreciate the range of expression.

After lecture class is over, students will be divided into four different study groups which had been distributed on the first day of school.  The purpose of the study group is to analyze and discuss about things that the students had learned on that day.   It will also be a place for students to take the quizzes for the lecture class.  In another word, the grade of the two classes will depend entirely on how well the students do on the quizzes.

Study Group