Calendar

LEC # TOPICS KEY DATES
Unit 1: Introduction: Ethnomusicological Approaches to African Music
1 Preliminaries; Overview of Course
2 The Field of Ethnomusicology, the Concept of "Soundscapes" and its Application to the Study of World Music

Building a Cross-Cultural Musical Vocabulary
3 Organology and Instruments: The Sachs-Hornbostel System of Instrument Classification
4 African Music: A Review of Ethnomusicological Literature Paper 1 due
Unit 2: Senegal
5 Senegalese History, Culture, and Music

Focus on Wolof Griots, Masters of the Sabar Drum
6 Popular Music in Senegal: mbalax and Hip-Hop
7 Sabar Drumming: An Introduction to Basic Hand Techniques, Rhythms, and bàkks
8 Sabar Drum Workshop with Artist-in-Residence, Lamine Touré
9 Interlude: Southern Africa
Unit 3: Mali
10 Music of the Mande: The jali and his Instruments Musical transcription exercise due
11 Guest Lecture - Demonstration by Balla Kouyate, a Balafon Player from New York City
12 Malian Superstars: Salif Keita, Oumou Sangare and Ali Farke Touré
13 Midterm Exam
Evening Performance by Lamine Touré and Group Saloum
Unit 4: Ghana
14 Music Cultures of the Ewe and Dagbamba
15 Case Study: Agbekor (Ewe) Paper 2 due
16 Urban Music Roots: Highlife and Palm-wine Music Submit final project proposal
17 Interlude: Central Africa
Unit 5: Nigeria
18 Music and Identity: jùjú and fúji Bands
19 Music and Politics: Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's Afro-Beat
20 Music and Ritual: Hausa Music and the bori Ceremony Submit final project progress report
21 Interlude: East Africa
Unit 6: Conclusions
22-24 Final Presentations
25 Conclusions Final paper due