Courses
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CAS XL 343: Alexander the Great in the East
Study of the various narratives about Alexander the Great, also known as Sikandar or Iskandar, as conqueror, philosopher-king, and hero, in medieval Middle Eastern and Asian literatures. Modern filmic representations of the historical figure are also compared. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
CAS XL 387: The Holocaust Through Film
An examination of film using the Holocaust as its central topic. What are the political and cultural effects when genocide is represented through film? Can feature films portray history, and if so, what are the consequences for an informed society? This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-intensive Course. -
CAS XL 441: 1001 Nights in the World Literary Imagination
What is The Thousand and One Nights? How has this ever-expanding collection appealed to its diverse audiences? Focus on Nights' structure and themes, notable translations and offshoots in western literature and art, and later appropriations by Arab and Muslim writers. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Writing-intensive Course. -
CFA AR 121: Foundation Sculpture
In this course, the students explore extensively the fundamentals of 3D design and construction while cultivating the capacity for visual and critical thinking. The students investigate the structural, compositional and conceptual roles of basic materials. A variety of techniques are used to articulate projects in three dimensions and to address fundamental ideas and issues that define the role of art and design in the community and the society we inhabit. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, The Individual in Community, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA AR 132: Drawing One: Drawing as Visual Language
AR 132 Drawing One is a four-credit studio course designed to equip students with the formal elements of the language of drawing, and the ability to make independent critical decisions about their creative work and the works of others. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Oral and/or Signed Communication. -
CFA AR 194: Mixed Media Drawing and Collage
In this entry level studio based class we will work together to learn various techniques and approaches to the art of mixed media drawing and collage. Through the making of a portfolio of work that will bridge basic drawing skills with mixed media projects in representation and abstraction, we will investigate how the ways of seeing and making have intersected with History, Culture, Belief and Identity during the 20th and 21st centuries. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA AR 250: Introduction to Printmaking
This printmaking course covers relief, monotype, and basic etching. Utilizing drawing, design, color, layering, and mark students create independent work within the context of historical and contemporary printmaking. Set in a cooperatively operated printmaking workshop, students complete collaborative and independent projects, and think creatively and critically. Learning creative collaboration is a key element of Intro to Printmaking, a valuable experience for all art students beyond the particular technical and studio skills. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CFA AR 369: Art, Community, and Social Engagement
The course provides opportunities for experiential learning, research, reflections, guest lectures, and discussions as tools to understand the creative approaches and philosophies represented in the community art engagement and social practices of cultural workers in contemporary, global and national contexts. A finely crafted final project allows for the demonstration of intercultural literacy, through an innovative execution- ready community- based project proposal designed in collaboration with peers or members of a local community. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA ME 203: Introduction to Music Teaching and Learning
Development of a personal orientation to music teaching and learning through course readings, discussions, observations of varied music teaching contexts, and peer teaching experiences. Critical exploration of contemporary music education practices. Includes an exploration of music teacher identity and an overview of the historical, philosophical, psychological, and sociological foundations of music education. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Philosophical Inquiry and Life's Meanings. -
CFA ME 305: Elementary General Music Methods
Use research and theory on musical development to select instructional approaches, plan learning activities, and create assessments for kindergarten through grade 5 general music. Practice pedagogical skills in class and in field placements. Required for Music Education Majors. 4 cr. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Teamwork/Collaboration. -
CFA ME 307: Secondary General Music Methods
Philosophical foundations and objectives of music programs in grades 5 through 12. Development of teaching materials and presentation of representative lessons; techniques of analysis and evaluation. Learners will participate in a semester-long Living Learning Community alongside Boston-residents as a way to study local and global issues that may be addressed by art educators 2cr. [Required for Music Education Majors.] This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
CFA ME 445: Technology for Musicians
Students will obtain essential skills in technologies to support music careers. Topics will include computer notation, audio and MIDI recording and editing, document design, self-promotion and responsible uses of social media. Students will also explore technologically enhanced and supported performance. This course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Digital/Multimedia Expression. -
CFA MH 211: History & Literature of Music 1
Historical survey of music tracing the history, performance, cultural significance, and development of musical styles from the Middle Ages to approximately the end of the Baroque. Required for all students in the BM and BA Music routes This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Research and Information Literacy. -
CFA MH 212: History & Literature of Music 2
Historical survey of music from 1750 to the present. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness. -
CFA MH 405: French Modernisms
In this course, we will explore the various types of aesthetic modernisms in France, covering roughly the fin de si?cle through the Fourth Republic (which ended in 1958). Rather than moving by genre of Western art music (opera, ballet, and so forth) we will group our study under larger cultural topics (technologies, spectacles, leisure). Underpinning our historical study of France during this period is an interrogation of the term "modernism" itself. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA MH 406: Ninteenth-Century Virtuosos
Are virtuosos a different order, separate from proficient and even excellent musicians? Is virtuosity admirable, or a quality only a philistine would venerate? Perhaps something in between? In this course, we will broach these and other questions in the context of the nineteenth century. In its broadest iteration, the objective of this course is to historicize the different guises of virtuosity, and thus to encourage you to develop your own critical apparatus for reading, writing, and thinking about issues of virtuosity. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA MH 407: Sonic and Visual Culture and Modern East Asia
This is a course about music as sonic and visual culture. Focusing on East Asian cultures in the Boston Area, students in the course will explore a diverse range of sounds, images and ideas across geographies. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry I, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy. -
CFA MH 432: History of Jazz
No prereq; open to all students. A chronological study of the history of -- and topics in -- jazz, from its beginnings to the present, focusing on styles, major performers and recordings, individuality and sound, instruments, voices, and forms, as well as social and cultural issues, such as race, popularity and commercialism, the individual versus and within the group, American identity and global rejection/admiration. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. -
CFA MT 105: Elements of Music Theory
Elements of Music Theory (CFA MT105) provides a creative introduction to the foundational principles of musical structure. Using a multi-modal approach, combining in-class performance exercises, listening, composition, keyboard, aural (and oral) learning, students acquire an analytical vocabulary and the basic knowledge to support the exploration of musical repertoires, to enhance their own performances, and to develop their own musical compositions. Analytical and music-composition projects engage concepts of musical space, time, pitch, rhythm, and harmony as employed in tonal music. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Creativity/Innovation. -
CFA MT 202: Music Theory 4
Further study of chromatic music in the common-practice period is approached through listening, writing, and analytical work. The course explores the structure and usage of augmented-sixth chords, mode mixture/borrowed chords, the Neapolitan triad, and modulation to distantly related keys. Continued work in applying general voice-leading principles will be covered through figured-bass exercises and harmonization of tunes. Formal structures such as sonata and sonata hybrids will be introduced. A keyboard harmony component will be covered in separate weekly meetings. This course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Quantitative Reasoning I, Creativity/Innovation.
