Black Studies 214 - Master Musicians of Afr

Fall
2014
01
4.00
Olabode Omojola
TTH 11:30AM-12:50PM
Amherst College
BLST-214-01-1415F
CHAP 201
oomojola@fivecolleges.edu
BLST-214-01,MUSI-106-01

(Offered as BLST 214 [A] and MUSI 106.) This course concentrates on the lives and music of selected West African musicians. Departing from ethnographic approaches that mask the identity of individual musicians and treat African societies as collectives, this course emphasizes the contributions of individual West African musicians whose stature as master musicians is undisputed within their respective communities. It examines the contributions of individual musicians to the ever continuous process of negotiating the boundaries of African musical practice. Individuals covered this semester include Babatunde Olatunji (Nigerian drummer), Youssou N’Dour (Senegalese singer), Kandia Kouyate (Malian jelimuso) and Ephraim Amu (Ghanaian composer). The variety of artistic expressions of selected musicians also provides a basis for examining the interrelatedness of different African musical idioms, and the receptivity of African music to non-African styles. 


Limited to 30 students.  Fall semester.  Five College Professor Omojola.

Permission is required for interchange registration during the add/drop period only.