MUS 107 Autonomous Musical Bodies

As artists, can we build our way out of anthropocentrism? Can we breathe life and independence into musical bodies, whether human or otherwise? In this course, we will analyze varying musical and sounding bodies, their roles as actants, and their potential for autonomy and agency. In surveying the relationships we inhabit with musical instruments and/or sounding objects, we will assess varying modes of corporeal vulnerability and the ways in which this vulnerability can be enhanced by instrument design and construction. With our critical framework in mind, we will brainstorm—both collectively and individually—approaches to building instruments and/or sonic accouterments. In doing so, our central aim is to disrupt delineations between composer, performer, human, non-human, musical, and non-musical entities.

Instructor

Younge