4 semester hoursUndergraduateLectureNUpath ICNUpath WI
Explores how people have used music to answer the question of what it means to be human and how boundaries between the human and nonhuman (animal, machine, angel, alien, etc.) have been inscribed, dissolved, and reconfigured by means of music. Examines historically how certain musical traits have served as signifiers of humanity, while others have signified nonhumanity. Studies musicians who deliberately present themselves or their work as nonhuman as a means to critique limited conceptions of mankind. Develops historical, critical, and ethical perspectives on what it means to be human by focusing on contexts where music has played a role in testing and contesting conventional wisdom (including colonial encounters, technological changes, scientific studies, and science fiction).