CSP 58 Ecomusicology

This course examines the relationship between music, sound and the environment. In the first part of this course we will review evolutionary theories of music-making among early homo sapiens and of acoustic communication among birds and mammals. Later, we will explore case studies of musical traditions from around the world that mediate relationships between humans and their surroundings. Finally, we will consider how music production in the Anthropocene relates to environmental sustainability. Here we will focus on the environmental footprint of human sound production as well as the role of music in contemporary environmental protest movements.