The World of Music

MUSHL 107, Section 05 Spring 2024

Adjunct Lecturer Stephanie Lou George online / asynchronous
Office Hours: By appointment e-mail: stephanielou@gmail.com

Course Overview
This course is a survey of music and sonic cultures from around the world. The primary
objective of this course is for students to develop skills to listen to, identify, describe, and discuss
various musical styles, their meanings, and the historical contexts in which they emerge. An
overall aim of this course is for students to gain the ability to analyze how and why people
perform music and mobilize sonic practices that create meanings about identity, community,
politics, protest, the past and the future. Students will explore the significant roles of musical
performance in producing, transmitting, and/or subverting claims and knowledge about race,
class, and gender and other cultural concepts such as heritage, tradition, and authenticity.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
1. Identify and describe instruments, modes of transmission; performance practices, and
salient features of musical genres;
2. Analyze the significance of musical performances within particular historical contexts;
3. Interpret music both as sound and as cultural event or phenomenon and gain an enhanced
respect for the diversity of people and cultures from around the world;
4. Discuss and write analytically about various musical cultures and related topics.

Course Requirements
Participation/ Weekly Assignments 50%
Midterm Exam 25%
Final Exam 25%

Participation/ Weekly Assignments: Given the format of the course, your virtual participation is
paramount. Each week I will post a set of detailed questions on Blackboard that pertain to
readings and listening examples for each unit. Your written responses will be based on readings,
primarily chapters from the textbook and supplemental reading which I will provide, as well as
musical examples. Musical examples that accompany the textbook are located on Blackboard
under “Course Materials.” Other musical examples will be embedded as hyperlinks in each
assignment. Weekly Assignments are due on Sundays by midnight each week.

Grades will be based on completion, not accuracy. However, it is imperative to complete

assignments thoroughly and with as much detail as possible in order to prepare for the midterm
and final exams. I will review all assignment submissions and make comments as necessary
which students can find in the “Feedback” section on Blackboard.

Follow-Up documents: I provide a Follow-Up document that corresponds to each Weekly

Assignment. Students are to review the Follow-Up after they receive a grad and feedback to
correct their responses to assignments. These Follow-Up provide partial or all answers to
questions that are the most challenging to clarify and solidify students’ comprehension of
concepts introduced in each chapter. The Follow-Up will be uploaded to Blackboard each week
under “Course Materials” after students submit the Weekly Assignment.

Being able to communicate your ideas and to share them effectively with others is a vital skill,
whether through speaking or writing. I also encourage you to write about your personal opinions
and experiences, if any, about any of the music covered in this course in your assignments.

Midterm Exam: The Midterm Exam will be in the same written format as Weekly Assignments.
Students will have one week to complete the exam, same as with Weekly Assignments. The
exam will be graded for accuracy and not for completion. You may use notes to Weekly
Assignments and the Follow-Up to guide your answers. The Midterm Exam will cover material
from Week 1 to Week 10.

Final Exam: The Final Exam will be administered the final day of class (after the last assignment
is submitted) and due by the end of the day of the assigned exam day as according to Hunter
College’s exam schedule. The format of the exam will be the same as the Midterm Exam and
Weekly Assignments. It will not be accumulative. The Final Exam will cover materials from
Week 11 to Week 18.

Please note:

All written responses to Weekly Assignments, Midterm Exam, and Final Exam are to be
typed and submitted on Blackboard (NOT as an attachment).

To locate all assignments and exams on Blackboard, select “Course Tools,” “Journals,” find the
correct folder with its designated name, “Create Journal Entry,” and “Submit Entry.”

This class requires that you have functioning Hunter college email account that is connected to
Blackboard. You must check your email frequently (daily or every other day).

Office Hours: I hold office hours each week. To meet with me individually, email and we will
set up a time to meet on Zoom.
Attendance Policy: Class attendance is essential with our online asynchronous format. Your
weekly assignment submissions represent your class attendance. If the assignment is uploaded
late, that will count as being late to class. If you fail to submit a weekly assignment, this will be
considered an unexcused absence. Unexcused absence and lateness are unacceptable and can
significantly lower your grade. More than four absences can result in your being dropped from
the course. Assignments are due on Sundays by midnight each week.

Our virtual classroom is a space that affirms all forms of gender identity and expression. If you
prefer to be addressed by a different name other than what is listed on the class roster, please let
me and your classmates know. Feel free to correct me to use the correct gender pronoun.

Listening to musical examples listed in the text is part of your weekly assignments that will
enable you to answer the questions I post. If you have not listened to the music, you have not
completed your weekly assignment/ nor attended our virtual class.

Students who wish to withdraw from the class with a grade of W may do so by submitting a
Withdrawal form to One Stop (Room 217N) by the deadline (May 15th). The Withdrawal period
begins February 15th. Students who stop attending class without withdrawing officially will
receive a grade of WU which counts the same as F. The Music Department does not support
requests to have grades of WU changed retroactively to W. Grades of IN (“incomplete”) are
granted only in special cases at the end of the semester whereby a student who is otherwise
passing the course has a documented illness or other emergency that prevents them from
completing their final assignments or final exam, and then only when permission has been
granted in writing from the Department Chair, no later than one week before the final class.

Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism constitutes a serious breach of academic integrity and can have severe disciplinary
consequences. Plagiarism is defined as ‘any deliberate borrowing of the ideas, terms, statements,
or knowledge of others without clear and specific acknowledgement of the source” (Hunter
College catalog, p. 43). If it is found that you have committed plagiarism, you will fail and
receive an F for the course. You may also be subject to other disciplinary measures. You must
cite your sources properly to avoid the appearance of plagiarism.

Hunter College Statement on Academic Integrity:

“Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g., plagiarism, cheating on examinations,
obtaining unfair advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious
offenses against the values of intellectual honesty. The College is committed to enforcing the
CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of academic dishonesty to the Hunter
College Academic Integrity Procedures.”

Hunter College Policy on Sexual Misconduct:

In compliance with the CUNY Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Hunter College reaffirms the
prohibition of any sexual misconduct, which includes sexual violence, sexual harassment, and
gender-based harassment retaliation against students, employees, or visitors, as well as certain
intimate relationships. Students who have experienced any form of sexual violence on or off
campus (including CUNY-sponsored trips and events) are entitled to the rights outlined in the
Bill of Rights for Hunter College.

a. Sexual Violence: Students are strongly encouraged to immediately report the incident
by calling 911, contacting NYPD Special Victims Division Hotline (646-610-7272)
or the local police precinct, or contacting the College’s Public Safety Office (212-
772-4444).
b. All Other Forms of Sexual Misconduct: Students are also encouraged to contact the
College’s Title IX Campus Coordinator, Dean John Rose (jtrose@hunter.cuny.edu or
212-650-3262) or Colleen Barry (colleen.barry@hunter.cuny.edu or 212-772-4534)
and seek complimentary services through the Counseling and Wellness Services
Office, Hunter East 1123.

CUNY Policy on Sexual Misconduct Link:

https://www2.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/page-assets/about/administration/offices/
legal-affairs/POLICY-ON-SEXUAL-MISCONDUCT-10.1.2015-with-links.pdf

From the Office of AccessABILITY:

In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter College is committed to ensuring educational parity and
accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or medical conditions. It is
recommended that all students with documented disabilities (Emotional, Medical, Physical,
and/or Learning) consult the Office of AccessAbility located at Room E1124 to secure necessary
academic accommodations. For further information and assistance, please call (212)
772-4857/TTY (212) 650-3230.

Required Text:
Miller, Terry E. and Andrew Shahriari, eds. 2021. World Music: A Global Journey. 5th Edition.
New York: Routledge.
https://hunter.textbookx.com/institutional/?action=browse#/books/4119085/

Course Schedule
(subject to change)
First week of classes: Introductions

Week 1 Assignment: Ch. 1: Fundamental Issues; Ch. 2: Aural Analysis

Week 2 Assignment: Ch. 3 Cultural Consideration: Beyond the Sounds Themselves

Week 3 Assignment: Ch. 4: Oceania: Australia, Papua New Guinea

Week 4 Assignment: Ch. 5: South Asia Part 1: North India (Hindustani)

Week 5 Assignment: Ch. 5: South Asia Part 2: South India (Carnatic); Religion; Indo-Caribbean

Week 6 Assignment: Ch. 5: South Asia Part 3: Popular Music

Week 7 Assignment: Ch. 6 Southeast Asia Part 1: Vietnam, Thailand

Week 8 Assignment: Ch. 6: Southeast Asia Part 2: Indonesia

Week 9 Assignment: Ch. 7: East Asia Part 1: China; Mongolia

Week 10 Assignment: Ch. 7: East Asia Part 1: Korea, Japan

Week 11 Assignment: Ch. 8: The Middle East: Islam, Arab World; Egypt; Palestine, Judaism

Week 12 Midterm Exam (due the day before Spring Recess begins)

Week 13: No class (Spring Recess)

Week 14 Assignment: Ch. 9: Europe: Greece; Bulgaria; Scotland

Week 15 Assignment: Ch. 10: Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana; Senegal-Gambia

Week 16 Assignment: Ch. 11 The Caribbean: Cuba, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic

Week 17 Assignment: Ch. 11: The Caribbean: Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana

Week 18: Final Exam (to follow Hunter College’s exam schedule; due by end of day)