MUSIC AND POLITICAL POWER

Music is political. It helps us define our social and political identities, offers critical commentary on systems and institutions, and can be used as a tool for both consolidating political power and enacting social change. In this course we will examine the myriad ways our politics shapes our music and our music shapes our politics. As a result of successfully completing this course, students will be able to understand how philosophers have theorized music’s role in the state and society, recognize how music helps to shape the relationship between citizens and their government by providing avenues for patriotism, protest, and the development and transmission of political culture, describe the relationships between music and social and political identities in the United States.