HIST 386: Topics in History

HIST 386-001: Sonic Travelers: The National & International in Popular Music
(Fall 2011)

10:30 AM to 01:10 PM TR

Section Information for Fall 2011

Instructors: Prof. Matt Karush and Prof. Mike O'Malley This 6 credit course will examine the popular music of the United States and Latin America from a transnational perspective. Though we are used to thinking of rock music as a purely North American invention and salsa as a "Latin" one, such simplifications hide a rich history of borrowing and mixing. The garage-rock classic "Louie, Louie" was based on a cha-cha-chá. "Oye Como Va" was a reworking of a Cuban song by the Puerto Rican Tito Puente, until the Mexican-born Carlos Santana turned it into a rock standard, and in so doing, helped shape the Latin jazz and rock music of the 1970s. Salsa, a genre rooted in Afro-Cuban musical traditions was actually invented by Fania records, a New York-based company led by the Dominican Johnny Pacheco, the Italian-American Jerry Massucci, and the Jewish New Yorker Larry Harlow. "Latin" rhythms have inflected American popular culture since the mid 19th century, and appear in hit records as well as movies and TV. North American music similarly infiltrated Latin America early on, and continuously. We will explore the way transnational contacts and exchanges have influenced musical genres such as jazz, rock, mambo, salsa, and bossa nova. By tracing the careers of performers from various parts of the United States, as well as from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, we will examine the international influences and experiences that shaped their musical innovations. By listening to music and examining primary sources for themselves, students will strive to understand both how foreign influences shaped popular music and how audiences "heard" and thought about those influences. NOTE: Please be sure to refer to the online syllabus at http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/nclc375-f11/ for any and all updates to this course and its syllabus.

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Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 1-6

Study of historical topics of special interest. Notes: Topics announced in advance. May be repeated for credit when topic is different. Offered by History & Art History. May be repeated within the term.
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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