MUS 18.01 Pop Music: Past, Present, Future

This course explores the developments, meanings, and performances of pop music across Western art traditions. What was the pervasive “Gangnam Style” of Renaissance Europe? Was Joseph Haydn the grandfather of the rickroll? And how did the equivalent of “Single Ladies” go viral in the 1920s United States? Tackling these questions seriously enables students to understand pop’s broader historical terrain, and to engage consequently in debates about artistic taste, accessibility, leisure, spreadability, appropriation, and innovation.

Instructor

Cheng

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:ART; WCult:W

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.