MUS 220 | Popular Music since the Birth of Rock

This course explores a range of 20th and 21st century popular music genres in their social, political, and aesthetic contexts. The course builds critical thinking and listening skills through analysis of sound recordings and close engagement with a variety of popular media, including music criticism, interviews, biography, liner notes, and documentary film. Emphasis will be placed on how musical practices intersect with both historical and contemporary struggles for gender equity and racial justice, alongside other pressing social issues.