Courses
The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.
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CFA ME 921: Research and Directed Study in Music Education
Students will refine a research problem and rationale, engage critically with theoretical frameworks and relevant scholarly literature, and align appropriate research methods. Section A1 (for online DMA students) is a week-long residency on campus in Summer II; all other courses must be completed prior to enrollment. Section B1 (for on-campus DMA students) is to be completed in the last semester of coursework, Fall or Spring sem. 1 cr. -
CFA MH 105: Music Appreciation
Basic materials of music; analysis of masterpieces of music with reference to cultural background; group attendance of concerts with preliminary discussion period. Course does not presuppose a technical knowledge of music. -
CFA MH 106: Music and Culture
This course introduces music across history, genre, and cultures, examining music's relationship to politics, race, religion, and identity. We'll approach music as a human activity enmeshed in social, political, economic, philosophical, religious, ecological, and individual contexts. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Aesthetic Exploration. -
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. Effective Fall 2018, 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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness. -
CFA MH 401: Graduate Music History Review
Review of music history and literature from the Middle Ages to present. 2 cr. -
CFA MH 403: Latinos Making Music in the United States
What impact have Latinos and Latinas had on the popular music of the United States? More than you might think. Not only have Latinos in the United States been instrumental in creating globally popular Spanish-language music like salsa, norteno, and reggaeton, they are also central, if usually unacknowledged, in the histories of jazz, rock and hip hop. The history of US music is usually told as the story of interactions between black and white Americans, so what does a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual music history reveal about music in the United States' To answer these questions, we will trace the participation of Latinos, alongside other ethnic groups, in the creation of US popular music from the 19th to the 21st centuries, surveying the musical styles of Latinos in the US and discussing the role of these musics in articulating race, class, gender and sexual identities for US Latinos, their circulation along migration routes, their role in identity politics and ethnic marketing, and their commercial crossover to Anglo audiences. But then, what is Latino in the first place' Many Latinos are of Mexican descent, others from the Caribbean, and others from elsewhere. Some are Spanish-dominant and some only speak English. Some have been here for generations an others arrived last year. Some have been reticent to highlight their Latino identities, and others have put Latino identity and identity politics at the center of their musical projects. How do these different ways of being Latino manifest themselves in musical activities and musical taste? and how, since the early 2000s boom of Latin artists like Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, and Jennifer Lopez, has the music industry sought to market to all of them? Above all, how can we tell these stories in all their richness and complexity? Case studies may include Mexican- American/Chicano, Puerto Rican/Nuyorican and Cuban/American musics; Latin music in golden age Hollywood; Latin dance crazes from mambo to the Macarena; rock en espanol; reggaeton, race politics, and the creation of the "Hurban" market; and the transnational Latin music industries of Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. 4cr Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy. -
CFA MH 404: Approaches to Sacred Music East and West
This course aims to develop a cultural awareness of diversity and global citizenship through a deeper understanding of diverse religious beliefs and sacred music practices. Students will explore civic engagement through participation in several musical subcultures in the Boston area. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy. -
CFA MH 408: Bob Dylan: Music and Words
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course examines Bob Dylan's music and lyrics from 1962 to 1975 in the context of his life, artistic influences, and milieu. We will explore the wealth of criticism and reaction his songs have inspired, paying special attention to questions concerning the nature of his art--for example, his dependence on musical tradition or the relationship between song lyrics and poetry--and past and current critical discussion about his legacy. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Writing-Intensive Course. -
CFA MH 409: Music of Black Americans
The course will study genres of Music of Black Americans in the United States and their appearance in and fusion with literature by African Americans. Emphasis on listening, live performances, student presentations, readings, and discussions. Topics include spirituals, ragtime, blues, jazz, popular music, rhythm and blues, rap, and classical music. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Aesthetic Exploration. -
CFA MH 412: Popular, Forgotten, and Misunderstood: Popular music of the 1950s
Undergraduate Prerequisites: First-Year Writing Seminar (CAS WR 120 or equivalent) - "Popular, Forgotten, and Misunderstood: Popular music of the 1950s" seeks to stimulate critical reflections about how popular music of "the Fifties" mirrors, challenges, and complicates conventional wisdom about the era (1945-63). Contemporary representations of the immediate post-world war two period often view the era with nostalgia and/or a sense of distance. We will continually question what people are nostalgic for and/or what they are seeking to distance themselves from. 4 cr -
CFA MH 420: Western Composers and Bali
This course considers the fascination of Western composers with Indonesian gamelan music. Starting with the Paris World's Fair of 1889, we will explore subsequent works by Debussy, Britten, Glass, McPhee, Tenzer, and Ziporyn. Through reading, listening, and analysis, we will unpack the vast array of Balinese and Javanese gamelan musical influences within the compositions of American, Canadian, and European composers since 1903, while considering the historical context. Students will also learn to perform Balinese music on authentic instruments and they will compose music as a creative project. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Historical Consciousness, Creativity/Innovation. -
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. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. -
CFA MH 433: Popular Music and Culture
This course engages with special topics in popular music and culture, varying depending on the semester. Topics might include specific artists or bodies of work, historical periods, theoretical issues, or methodological and disciplinary concerns about popular music studies. -
CFA MH 435: Music of Africa
No prereq; open to all students. A survey of traditional and popular music traditions throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and the diaspora. Emphasis is on music making within its cultural context. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills one unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Digital/Multimedia Expression, and Creativity/Innovation. 4 cr -
CFA MH 436: Musical Culture
This course offers both an introductory look at four selected regions/countries among the diverse musical cultures around the world: West Africa, Bulgaria, Brazil, and Korea. Through these musical practices, we will investigate the ways in which many of these styles are the product of long running intra/intercultural dialogues, struggles, and negotiation processes that continue to produce new hybrid forms. Because of the vast array of people and cultures within each selected area, this course is necessarily selective and introductory. A variety of scholars and performing artists will be invited to give a workshop on music/dance and discuss their lives as musicians. Over the course of the semester, you will gain an understanding of the myriad ways people use music to construct and individual group identities, the diverse ways groups incorporate music into their lives, and how to understand music within a broader historical, political, and economic context. You will also be introduced to basic musical concepts and terminology, and acquire listening skills that will enable you to better encounter and understand music in this course and beyond. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Aesthetic Exploration, Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy, Research and Information Literacy. -
CFA MH 480: Music and Mysticism
MUSIC&MYSTICISM -
CFA MH 499: Directed Study: Undergraduates
Individual projects arranged between undergraduate students and faculty, often in areas outside of the regular curriculum. Plans must be submitted in advance of registration. Variable credit. -
CFA MH 561: World Music Ensemble
Learn to perform traditional world music in the context of an ensemble taught by specialists of African, Balinese, Latin American, and many other types of world music. The specific musical style and type of group will change with each semester. Improve your rhythmic skills; lower performance anxiety. Enrollment is open to all students. No previous musical experience is necessary. 1 cr. May be repeated for credit. -
CFA MH 563: World Music and Culture
Read, discuss, and begin to understand many traditions of World Music through performance and discussion taught in the oral tradition. Enrollment is open to all students, and no previous musical experience is necessary. No prereq. [Var cr.]
