Humanities Arts Cultural Stu 0258 - Master Musicians West Africa

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, the course studies the works of individual West African musicians whose stature as master musicians is undisputed within their respective communities. It examines the contributions of individual musicians and ensembles to the ever continuous process of negotiating the boundaries and ambience of African musical practice. Individuals and groups covered this semester include Fela Anikulapo-Kuti (Nigeria), Dzigbordi (Ghana), Kandia Kouyate (Mali),Youssou N'Dour (Senegal) and Mafikizolo (South Africa). 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.

Culture, Humanities, and Languages Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research In this course, students are expected to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time.